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REVISED  AND  PREPARED 

BY 


JOHN  M.  ROBERTS,  Esq. 


CLINTON  LA., 

FELICIANA  DEMOCRAT,  PRINT, 
1859. 


* 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by  John  M, 
Roberts,  Esqr.,  in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  United  States  District  Court  of  the 

State  of  Louisiana. 


.c^.s'rttr 


\ 


JAMES  P .  COLLINS,  Dk  c  e  a  SE11. 

the  present  W  0  R  Iv  , 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 

BY  JOHN  M.  ROBERTS. 


Clinton,  La. 


t 


<«: 


COM PTROLLER’S  DEPARTMENT,  ) 
Raleigh,  N.*C..,  Jan.  BO,  1858..  j 


Dear  Sir — Your  letter,  requesting  me  to  examine  the 
Records  in  my  Office,  for  evidence  of  the  payments  made  to 
James  Collins,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  duly 
received. 

On  a  full  and  thorough  examination  of  the  Records,  I  find 
sundry  payments  made  to  James  Collins,  in  the  Halifax,  Wil¬ 
mington.  Salisburv,  and  Morgan  Districts. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  C.  H.  BROGDEN,  Comptroller, 

To  John  M.  Roberts,  Esq.,  Clinton,  La. 


I  N  13  E  X 


Preface . . 

CHAPTER 

I.  Early  days  ar.d  ancestry . ‘ . 

II.  Trouble  among  the  Tories, . 4 . 

III.  Minute  men, . 

IV.  Skirmish  with  the  enemy, . „  ... 

Y.  Scouting . 

VI.  Battle  of  King’s  Mountain, . . . .. . 

VII.  Battle  of  the  Cowpens, .  . . . . 

VIII.  A  hazardous  adventure, . 

IX  Forretting  out  Tories, . . 

X.  Return  home, . . . . 

. 

XI.  Various  occupations, . . 

XII.  Scenes  and  adventures, . . . 

XIII.  The  Spring  of  1791.  The  Indians . 

XIV.  Religious  views.  Dancing  and  singing  schools.  Hunting,. . 


PAGE  lit 

11 

9  9 

U+i 

28 

39 

46 

49 

55 

59 

65 

68 

73 

78 

82 

90 


XV.  “  The  days  when  I  went  courting,” .  98 

XVI.  Visit  to  my  father.  Return  to  Georgia.  Marriage, .  109 

XVII.  Roy  attacked  by  Indians.  Drunkenness.  Spell  of  fever .  118 

XVIII.  Return  to  busiuess.  Death  of  my  wife.  Second  marriage, . .  125 

XIX.  Horse  purchase.  A  strange  disease .  138 

XX.  Visit  to  a  celebrated  docuor.  New  and  strange  religious  sect,  148 

XXL  Preaches  a  sermon.  Mysterious  cure, .  151 

XXII.  Visit  to  Tennessee.  Encounter  with  Indians, .  162 

* 

XXIII.  Removal  to  Tennessee.  Last  Remarks, . . . . 


The  publisher  offers  the  present  work,  not  with  a  view 
through  vanity,  of  adding  to  the  catalogue  of  historical  in  for-, 
mation  of  the  brave  and  patriotic  sires  of  the  revolution — not 
that  lie  expects  to  receive  a  larger  amount  of  applause,  than 
those  who  have  already  filled  the  minds  of  the  country  with  a 
brilliant  rehearsal  of  their  illustrious  deeds  of  heroism,  and  in 
fact,  whose  merits  have  not  yet  been  half  told,  and  which  is 
fervently  hoped  will  continue  to  be  repeated  in  strains  of  enthu¬ 
siasm,  as  long  as  a  solitary  vestige  of  republicanism  is  left  to 
linger  in  the  American  heart.  No,  ho  feels  that  it  is  incum¬ 
bent  on  him  to  make  a  disclosure  as  a  child  of  this  republic, 
when  in  his  power  so  to  do,  of  all  the  acts  and  deeds  of  those 
whose  lives  were  tried  in  defence  of  the  great  'cause  of  liberty, 
■happiness  and  peace  of  this,  now,  mighty  and  grand  republic, 
oven  though  these  words  should  come  from  an  humble  soldier.  It 
is  asserted,  by  some,  that  there  is  a  sufficient  amount  of  historical 
knowledge  already  given  :  any  more  mould  be  superfluous .  This 
kind  of  reasoning  is  certainly  poor  and  worthless.  Are  there 
too  many  memoir  authorities  to  sustain  the  glorious  principles 
■of  Christianity  and  religious  truth?  Certainly  not,  will  be 
answered  by  the  friends  of  its  progress.  We  take  it  then,  that 
principles  of  freedom,  of  republicanism,  of  brotherly  union  and 
national  enfranchisement,  are  some  of  the  forced  and  legitimate 
results  issuing  alone  from  the  word  of  inspiration,  and  are  inti¬ 
mately  blended  and  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  Bible.  The 
man  who  is  unfriendly  to  one,  is  surely  a  stranger  to  the  other;; 
and  there  are  certainly  no  grounds  for  compromise.  Besides, 
what  can  more  easily  quiet  the  turbulent  and  boisterous  pas¬ 
sions  of  an  angry  mind,  than  to  dispel  by  force  of  reason,  to 
drive  away  the  dark  and  benighted  clouds  of  ignorance,  that 
the  rays  of  intelligence  may  shed  soft  and  congenial  influences 
in  the  heart,  awakefting  into  being  different  thoughts  and  differ- 


/ 


PREFACE. 


IV 

ent  feelings.  To  stand  aloof  and  not  participate  in  these  sen¬ 
timents,  is  surely  depriving  ones-self  of  all  the  real  enjoyments 

of  life.  v  ,  ,  . 

The  present  work  is  written  in  an  unpolished  and  plain 

style  ;  but  it  is  written  in  the  words  of  truth.  It  is.  written  by 
a  soldier  who  stood  in  the  front  of  the  many  battles  of  •  the 
enemy — whose  liio  was  exposed  to  whatever  dangci  that  should 
be  necessarily  encountered,  both  by  night  and  by  day,  undergo¬ 
ing  fatigue  of  all  kinds.  The  latter  part  ot  this  work  contains 
more  of  the  history  ol  his  life  in  a  private  capacity,  than  of  the 
fields  of  battle,  and  his  only  characteristic  as  a  man  of  bold¬ 
ness  of  sentiments  and  “  truth  unvarnished.” 

There  are  facts,  in  the  present  work,  in  regard  to  the  battle 
of  the  King’s  Mountain— which  former  historians  have  not 
altogether  taken  so  much  notice — which  goes  to  show  the 
9  actual  situation  of  the  scattering  and  small  troops  of  Col.  Moffit, 
their  difficulties  and  struggles  with  the  home  enemies  at  that 
time  (i.  e.,  the  Tories)  being  compelled  to  rely  almost  entirely 
upon  their  own  resources,  or  in  fact,  absolutely  having  no  pros¬ 
pect  of  future  reward  from  the  public,  the  majority  being  very 
poor  and  unable  to  obtain  the  necessary  means  suited  to  the 
field  of  battle.  But  these  embarrassments  did  not  baffle  their 
designs,  for  they  were  determined  to  conquer  or  lose  their  lives 
in  the  contest.  They  were  contending  for  freedom,  for  liberty  and 
for  the  prosperity  of  a  new  republic,  that  America  should  be  the 
home  of  social  and  national  happiness,  and  it  is  presumed  that 
no  one  will  doifbt  but  that  their  efforts  have  been  crowned  with 
triumphant  success. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  the  reader  that  the  author  of  the 
present  narrative  closes  his  memoirs  so  suddenly  and  apparently 
unfinished.  It  is  doubtless  that  he  did  not  more  than  half 
finish  his  design,  for  he  moved  and  lived  in  the  State  of  Louisi¬ 
ana  quite  a  number  of  years  after  the  time  that  his  autobiogra¬ 
phy  closed,  having  reared  a  number  of  children,  whom  even 
now,  may  be  living  in  this  State  ;  but  at  the  time  of  his  under¬ 
taking  the  present  work,  he  was  of  extreme  age  and  nearly 
blind.  Not  to  boast  of  the  merits  of  our  old,  and  now  nearly 
all  deceased,  sires  of  the  revolution,  beggars  a  proper  want  of 
knowledge  as  wrell  as  a  proper  want  of  a  pure  principle  of  pat¬ 
riotism  in  our  hearts. 

Everything  that  we  may  claim  as  a  happy  republic,  is  alone 
through  the  bold  and  vigorous  exertions  of  those  bravo  and 
gallant  men,  their  trials  and  undertakings,  as  well  as  all  the 
fatigues  of  war.  They  were  guided  by  the  spirit  of  freedom 
and  happiness.  The  atmosphere  they  inhaled,  inspired  them 
with  a  love  of  freedom  ;  the  pure  water  fhey  drank  from  the 


PREFACE. 


V 


• 

pebbly  rivulets,  stimulated  them  ;  the  evergreen  shade,  the 
fertile  soil  enchanted  them  by  their  magic  charms  to  industry  ; 
while  an  indomitable  disposition  not  to  be  fettered  in  the  chains 
of  despotism,  awoke  them  to  a  double  energy  that  has  never 
been  equalled  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  Yes, ‘reader,  this  old 
and  venerable  father  of  the  revolution  died  before  he  had 
completed  his  own  story;  but  his  “  handwriting  is  on  the  wall/7 
and  brings  fresh  and  living  associations  of  the  loveliest  char¬ 
acter  to  our  hearts — it  calls  as  with  a  “bugle  blast77  to  our 
recollection,  the  perilous  condition  that  awaited  moral,  religious 
and  civil  liberty.  To  undertake  to  describe  the  boasted  wealth 
and  honor  of  the  American  republic,  in  comparison  with  any 
other  nation  now  on  the  globe,  would  be  extreme  vanity  ;  but 
we  cannot  charge  our  minds  with  too  much  veneration  for  the 
character  of  our  past  and  deceased  fathers  of  the  revolution, 
however  simple  and  plain  may  have  been  their  manner  and 
style  of  speaking  and  writing,  or  however  rough  and  seemingly 
unpolished  their  habits  and  manners  in  comparison  with  the 
present  age  of  wealth  and  luxury,  for  like  Napoleon,  they  had 
no  friend  but  their  sword,  yet  the  same  untiring,  immortal, 
unalterable  disposition  to  implant  the  true  and  genuine  princi¬ 
ples  of  social  and  national  happiness  inspired  their  souls  to 
deeds  of  noble  daring  and  the  “paean  notes  of  liberty  77  clang  to 
them  as  the  dreams  of  the  Messiah  Ben  David  does  to  the  Wan¬ 
dering  Jew  to  this  day.  They  beheld  by  faith  the  star  of 
freedom  in  the  distance*.  They  beheld,  the  Star  of  Bethlehem 
by  inspiration  whose  cheering  beams  they  fervently,  hoped 
would  shoot  athwart  the  else  rayless  void  of  more  than  midnight 
gloom.  Yes,  yes, — the  gentle  dove  that  rested  on  Mount  Olivet, 
was  not  a  stranger  to  their  hearts’  feelings,  although  deluged  in 
blood  and  carnage  and  yet  they  hoped  to  see  the  gentle  messen¬ 
ger  return  with  the  olive  branch  of  peace — not  that  they  felt 
like  surrendering  the  love  of  country,  but  to  accomplish  a  far 
more  rational  deed — a  deed  of  universal  enfranchisement — to 
establish  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  every  nation,  where 
the  altars  of  religion,  the  temples  of  justice  and  the  free  and 
actual  happiness  of  man  could  rest  undisturbed  and  man  should 
gain  his  living  “  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.'7  These  were  the 
sentiments  of  our  old  forefathers  ;  they  loved  their  country,  for 
it  is  natural  and  should  be  so;  for  everything  like  prosperity 
depends  on  that  one  sacred  tie.  Hear  the  words  of  a  gentle¬ 
man  of  this  State,  on  the  same  subject,  in  a  public  address.  I 
here  quote  as  I  think  them  appropriate  to  the  present  theme  : 
“  Love  of  country  seems  to  be  an  universal  principle.  Even 
the  inhabitant  of  the  ice-bound  and  frozen  regions  of  Green¬ 
land  regard  it  as  the  best  country  upon  which  the  sun  ever  shone. 


VI 


PREFACE. 


Should  we  compare  then,  ourselves  to  any  nation  on  earth  at 
the  present  time?  If  the  history  of  our  country ;  if  the 
benign  blessings  which  our  glorious  institutions  shed  like  dews 
from  heaven  upon  each  and  every  one  of  our  citizens  ;  if  a  love 
and  veneration  of  the  tombs  of  our  fathers,  the  memory  of 
Washington  and  his  time-honored  compatriots  and  the  sweet 
name  of  America  itself;  if  these  are  not  sufficient  to  inspire 
one  of  Columbia’s  sons  with  emotions  of  patriotism,  he  is  too 
far  lost  for  salvation  to  reach  him — too  detestable  to  dwell  in 
the  habitations  of  man,  and  should  be  driven  with  eternal  infa¬ 
my  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  banished  to  the  dreary  rock  of 
Patmos,  or  some  solitary  isle  of  the  ocean,  uninhabited  by  mor¬ 
tal  man,  and  unfrequented,  save  by  loathsome  vultures  which 
are  drawn  thither  to  feed  and  gloat  themselves  upon  the  putres¬ 
cent  substances  which  old  ocean;  in  the  mighty  expurgating 
commotion  of  her  waters,  indignantly  heaves  "from  her  surface. 
No  American,  I  repeat,  need  be  advised  of  his  duty  as  a  patriot 
and  lover  of  Ids  country:  the  scenes  enacted  -on  the  battle-fields 
of  _  York  town,  King’s  Mountain,  the  Plains  of  Chalrnette,  the 
heights  of  Cerro  Gordo  are  sufficient.” 

This  is  one  side  of  the  picture  and  it  is  fervently  hoped  to 
be  a  correct  one  ;  but  let  us  examine  the  matter  a  momernt  by 
way  of  premise  :  First,  who  would  deny  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  parent  to  give  and  render  all  the  care  in  the  bounds  of 
reason,  and  even  sometimes  overleap  this  mark  to  protect  their 
offspring?  Again,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  parent  to  admonish  and  devise  the  best  and  most  whole¬ 
some  comfort  to  the  health  and  happiness  of  their  offspring  • 
place  before  them  the  best  advice,  moral  and  religious,  as  well 
as  inculcate  the  feelings  of  love  to  country,  kindred  and 
friends,  to  have  the  mind  properly  prepared  to  enter  into  the 
various  scenes  and  occupations  of  life,  fulfilling  in  every  sense 
the  sacred  word  of  the  old  book  of  the  Bible,  “  Raise  up  a 
child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and  when  he  gets  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it.”  So  great  was  this  principle  once  inculcated  in 
the  laws  ol  some  of.  the  Oriental  nations,  that  if  the  child  was 
2iot  educated  for  some  ostensible  occupation  in  life,  the  parent 
was  subject  to  the  greatest  penalty,  and  prevented  from  being 
recognized  on  a  par  with  the  same  advantages  of  other  citizens, 
and  sometimes  almost  the  forfeiture  of  life,  so  great  has  this 
one  principle  been  adhered  to  :  ’so  great  has  this  point  been 
carried  in  the  Divine  Law  of  our  Heavenly  Father  towards  the 
happiness  and  salvation  of  sin-atoning  man,  that  he  gave  his 
“ only  begotten  Son”  to  ransom  by  a  vicarious  death  on  the 
rugged  cross,  as  an  expiation  of  the  guilt  of  man  ;  thereby  set¬ 
ting  an  example  ol  parental  fidelity  to  man.  God  has  by  holy 


PREFACE. 


YII 


decree  indelhbly  stamped  this  cardinal  feature  in  all  animal 
creation,  from  man,  who  was  formed  after  his  own  image  and 
likeness,  to  the  lowest  of  the  beast  creation.  No  opinion  of 
man  can  set  aside  the  “  Law  of  God,”  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
as  a  lamentable  error  in  the  faculty  of  man  to  seek  any  means 
to  contradict  these  rules. 

Second — It  is  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  natural 
kindness  and  brotherly  union  that  the  “ golden  rule  of  charity  ” 
was  pronounced  with  so  much  emphasis  in  the  expressions  of 
the  Apostle  .Paul  in  his  writings  to  the  first  Corinthians,  in  his 
chapter  thirteenth,  and  particularly  in  his  first  verse,  ho 
remarks  :  “  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  an¬ 

gels  and  have  not  charity.  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  or  a 
tinkling  cymbal.”  (Please  read  this  chapter.) 

Now  let  us  turn  and  contemplate  the  reciprocal  affections 
that  should  be  manifested  from  the  offspring  to  the  natural 
parent,  and  let  us  apply  these  rules  to  our  natural,  national, 
moral  and  civil  conditions  in  life  :  First — Is  it  natural  for  the 
child  to  love  the' parent  to  which  it  owes  all  its  protection  and 
care,  being  entirely  weak  and  destitute  of  all  power  of  self- 
protection  ? 

Second — Why  should  these  principles  be*  applied  in  a 
national  sense?  In  the  great  volume  of  universal  love  the  lan¬ 
guage  bursts  forth  in  strains  too  eloquent  and  apprises  man  of 
the  truth.  Not  to  love  home — the  place  from  which  he  first 
inhaled  his  breath  of  existence — not  to  love  the  numerous  fond 
and  endearing  associations  of  youthful  recollections — the  little- 
stream,  the  tall  tree,  the  old  fence  overgrown  with  the  briar — - 
where  the  wild  bird  builds  her  annual  nest ;  the  mother's  smile* 
and  the  father’s  stern  advice,  the  old  schoolhouse,  the  college 
wall,  the  youthful  girl  with  sweet  and  innocent  caress,  the 
friend’s  warm  hand,  the  prayer,  the  song,  the  “  dance  of  fearless, 
thoughtless  joy  ” — can  these  be  erased  from  the  human  heart  ?' 
Methinks  not. 

Third — The  moral  condition  that  may  exist,  brings  a  dif¬ 
ferent  tide  of  feeling,  and  places  man  under  a  different  position 

in  life. 

Fourth — The  civil  or  social  state.  In  this  character  man 
stands  amenable  and  quite  responsible  to  the  power  above  him  as- 
well  as  to  the  earthly  power  equal  with  him.  The  responsibility 
lie  owes  to  his  fellow  man  in  this  world,  is  the  highest  consider¬ 
ation  he  can  contemplate  ;  to  forget  this,  man  forgets  the  link 
of  chain  by  which  he  is  bound,  he  becomes  a  drone  and  dies  as 
he  lived  :  fashion,  pomp  and  wealth  are  buried  with  him.  This 
theme  is  worthy  of  our  serious  reflection  ;  to  comment  would  be 
but  to  strain  the  mind  and  lead  to  endless  disclosures  and  mere 


VIII 


PREFACE-. 


waste  of  time.  Let  ns  again  ask,  why  should  there  be  a  dere¬ 
liction  of  duty  on  man  to  continue  an  unceasing  devotion  to 
country,  home  and  friends?  Is  it  for  the  .purpose  of  personal 
gain?  This  question  requires  some  investigation.  1.  There 
are  reasons  that  may  induce  a  man  (as  I  may  say)  to  leave  or 
forsake  the  early  idols  of  his  heart,  youthful  affections,  and  all 
the  circumstances  that  surround  his  happiness  or  his  interest — • 
condition  in  this  life.  2.  Oppressive  control,  ungenerous  and 
predominant  suasion,  the  cruel  exercise  of  self-will  and  regard¬ 
less  management  are  some*  causes,  perhaps  the  hope  of  health 
is  one  :■  these  are  plain  reasons,  under  qualified  circumstances. 
Now  let  us  ask  ourselves — Is  the  love  of  honor,  love  of  ambi¬ 
tion,  and  unrestrained  power,  and  self-sacrifice  a  cause  sufficient 
to  erase  those  earth-born  principles  and  national  fidelity.  Is 
it  the  love  of  mammon  or  sordid  gold  a  useless  ornament  to 
the  miser  who  cannot  take  one  cent  with  him  when  the  last 
duty  is  required  of  him,  (that  is  to  die,  leaving  all  his  earthly 
hoardings  here  behind  him?)  Is  it  for  the  sake  of  health? 
Let  him  remember  that  all  mankind  are  subjected  alike  to 
the  same  dispensations  of  Divine  Providence.  It  is  a 
lifeless  subterfuge  and  weighs  not  a  fraction  in  the  scale  of 
reason.  Let  us,  as  a  nation  apply  the  foregoing  questions  to 
our  own  hearts.  Have  we  by  wealth  and  almost  unrestrained 
power  forgotten  “  the  Dock  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and  the  hole 
of  the  pit  whence  ye  are  digged  ? ”  Are  the  memorable  days 
that  have  been  celebrated  as  typical  of  our  national  independ¬ 
ence,  such  as  the  Fourth  of  July,  Washington’s  birthday  and 
the  Eighth  of  January  beginning  to  fall  back  into  the  shades 
of  forgetfulness?  Is  the  nation  engulphed  in  a  political  mania, 
or  is  it  mammon  or  ostensible  wealth,  false  show,  that  causes  us 
to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  those  memorable  and  early  scenes?  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  foregoing  hints  will  be  sufficient  and  duly 
appreciated. 

Yes,  our  venerable  father  of  the  revolution,  died  in  his 
eighty-first  year,  in  the  State  of  Texas,  after  “  running  the  race 
that  was  set  before  him.”  after  enjoying  immeasurable  happi¬ 
ness  and  devotional  thankfulness,  and  submissive  feeling  of  ad¬ 
oration  for  the  mercies  and  blessings  of  that  omnipotent  God 
who  crowned  the  efforts  of  his  life  in  establishing  “  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  to  men.”  He  died  as  he  lived,  resigned  to 
his  fate — he  died  without  a  murmur,  composed,  serene — his  body 
was  consigned  to  the  dust,  and  his  soul  to  bloom  in  an  undying 
immortality.  Our  venerable  patriarch  was  known  to  be  a  man 
of  exceedingly  industrious  habits,  was  always  engaged  in  some 
enterprise  or  business — lie  threw  away  but  a  few  hours,  believ¬ 
ing  it  a  great  error  in  man  to  while  away  the  hours  of  his  life 


rilEFACE. 


IX 


in  idleness  and  frivolity — “that  Satan  doth  still  mischief  find 
for  idle  hands  to  do.”  Thus,  we  may  ascribe  as  one  reason  for 
his  longevity.  He  was  small  in  stature  ;  he  had  but  little  sick¬ 
ness  in  comparison  to  other  persons  ;  he  possessed  robust  health  ; 
he  was  also  a  very  neat  person  in  his  dress  ;  easy  and  polite  in 
his  manners ;  filled  with  good  humor  and  jokes,  and  was  very 
fond  of  company  at  times  ;  his  manners  were  nevertheless  grave 
and  dignified.  He  made  it  a  rule  not  to  be  forward  in  break- 
.  ing  conversation,  rather  reserved  ;  yet  you  could  see  the  fire  of 
wit  kindling  in  his  eye,  which  is  said  to  be  the  unerring  index 
that  declares  the  power  of  the  soul  that  sits  enthroned  within. 
He  was  kind  and  generous  to  a  fault — the  chamber  of  the  sick, 
the  pillow  of  the  dying,  the  vigils  of  the  dead,  never  missed  his 
sympathy  and  kind  attention ;  administering  on  all  occasions 
whatever  services  he  could  render.  Many  will  long  remember 
him  for  it,  for  if  there  is  a  sentiment  in  the  human  heart  that 
truly  indicates  a  noble,  God-like  spirit,  a  spirit  of  a  great  and 
generous  soul,  filled  to  the  last  expansion  with  patriotism  and 
philanthrophy,  it  is  to  visit  our  poor  and  afflicted  humanity  in 
hours  of  sickness  and  want.  Our  old  friend  was  universally 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and.  greatly  beloved  by  those 
who  were  intimately  acquainted  with  him.  Asa  husband-  -  as 
a  father — in  those  attributes  the  time  honored  and  lasting  re- 
collections  cling,  if  possible,  closer  than  the  bark  to  the  tree,  to 
the  bosom  of  his  family  ;  for  like  the  lofty  tree  which  lifts  its 
umbrageous  head  towards  Heaven,  basking  in  the  free  air  in 
majestic  grandeur,  where  thousands  take  repose  and  exult 
beneath  its  refreshing  shade,  so  did  our  venerable  friend  stand 
among  the  children  of  men,  “  that  no  power  could  break  or 
favor  bend  ”■ — one  straight  and  onward  way  in  life- — always  ob¬ 
serving  truth  and  punctuality  as  the  polar  star  and  sheet-anchor 
to  direct  and  maintain  his  course ;  for  he  was  never  known  to 
fall  behind,  if  possible,  with  his  obligations  to  his  fellow  men. 
This  was  his  tried  character.  His  accumulations  of  wealth 
were  comparatively  small,  but  he  always  strove  to  have  a 
sufficiency  to  meet  the  necessary  wants  of  a  respectable  life, 
and  enjoyed  it  to  the  full  fruition.  His  doors  were  thrown  open 
to  distress,  and  the  hand  of  charity  extended,  wherever  he 
thought  it  really  necessary.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  frank¬ 
ness  of  expression,  and  candid  in  the  transactions  of  business. 
He  was  a  man  who  had  not  all  the  early  opportunities  of  what 
is  termed  a  liberal  education,  but  he  devoted  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  life,  considerable  of  his  time  to  reading,  especially  the 
Bible,  and  seemed  to  reflect  a  great  deal  on  its  holy  pages. 
His  opinions  were  received  in  all  matters,  when  consulted  ;  he 
had  few  enemies  which  caused  his  opinions  to  go  farther  than 

o 


X 


PREFACE. 


perhaps  the  most  of  men,  as  he  was  not  meddlesome  with  other 
people's  affairs.  He  was  not  quarrelsome,  but  at  times,  we  sup¬ 
pose,  from  the  many  early  conflicts  with  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  became  excited  at  the  mention  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  especially  at  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Tory,  for  he  had 
an  undying  hatred  for  them  which  sometimes  caused  him  to 
betray  the  weakness  of  his  feelings,  and  would  become  trans¬ 
ported  by  that  monster  which  he  termed  his  greatest  self-enemy. 
We  consider  it  to  be  almost  universally  the  case  in  those  whose  • 
temperaments  are  naturally  given  to  excitement,  and  who  have 
had  to  go  through  sanguinary  scenes,  and  have  coine  off  Victo¬ 
rious,  to  give  way  at  times  to  exuberance  of  passion  ;  but  they 
were  soon  over  with  him,  provided  the  object  of  his  indignation 
was  removed  immediately,  otherwise,  battle  to  the  hilt.  As 
observed,  he  devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  time  in  his  old  age  to 
reading,  and  among  other  works,  were  those  containing  descrip¬ 
tions  of  the  battles  of  the  revolution,  and  among  them  were 
those  in  which  he  was  engaged.  He  thought  that  their  descrip¬ 
tion  was  not  sufficiently  elaborate,  which  brought  him  to  the 
conclusion  to  write  a  narrative  of  his  own  life  and  adventures. 
The  relative  position  he  stood  in  as  a  spy,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  and  as  a  soldier  at  its  conclusion,  he  thought  it  “  might 
not  be  amiss 7;  to  add  a  few  words  in  his  way,  to  the  world,  and 
to  the  rising  generation.  We  believe  that  it  is  a  natural  in¬ 
stinct  in  the  bosom  of  all  men,  who  have  passed  through  similar 
trials — as  our  venerable  father  did — to  tell  all  about  it  as  far  as 
possible  ;  and  it  is  right  that  we  should  listen  to  their  stories 
with  care  and  attention.  In  this  w#  show  respect  to  them  as 
well  as  gratitude  on  our  part.  .  This  light  which  he  has  left,  is 
fervently  hoped  to  burn  forever  in  the  heart  of  every  true  lover 
of  liberty  :  it  is  his  tribute  that  he  owes  to  his  country — come 
and  get  it. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


OP 


A  REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER: 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  DAYS  AND  ANCESTRY. 

**  Praise  to  the  warriors,  who  fought  and  who  bled 
In  Liberty’s  battles.  Praise  !  Praise  to  the  dead. 

Bind  on  the  brows  of  the  living’,  though  hoary, 

A  chaplet  of  laurels  they  merit  so  well, 

And  sing  to  the  dead  one  loud  anthem  of  glory. 

Loud,  louder,  yet  louder,  their  proud  notes  shall  swell.” 

N  REFLECTING  on  past  events,  and  conn 
paring  them  with  the  present,  and  having 
arrived  at  that  period  of  life  which  unfits 
me  for  the  more  active  employments  and  busy 
pursuits  that  have  hitherto  occupied  my  time, 
I  thought  it  might  not  be  amiss  to  amuse  my¬ 
self  by  writing  a  few  incidents  of  my  life, 
although  they  may  not  be  interesting  to  any  one 
(who  may  chance  to  read  these  pages),  yet  might 
be,  in  some  instances,  amusing  as  well  as  important 
to  -some  of  my  progeny  when  I  am  no  more.  In 
writing  the  incidents  of  my  past  life,  I  am  forced  to 
depend  entirely  upon  memory  ;  by  moving  from  one 
place  to  another,  and  meeting  with  sundry  accidents,  I  lost  all 
the  important  papers  and  notes  which  I  could  apply  to  as  refe« 


12 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


* 


rences,  and  can  therefore  give  but  an  incomplete  and  unfinished 
idea  of  many  things. 

Before  I  proceed  farther,  it  will  perhaps  be  necessary  to 
say  something  of  my  parentage,  of  which  I  can  detail  but  little, 
being  only  in  possession  of  some  statements  given  to  me  by  my 
father,  after  I  became  of  an  age  to  listen,  and  hear  him  recite, 
the  most  interesting  stories  about  our  ancestors  and  familiy.  I 
learned  from  him,  that  my  grand-father,  Charles  Collins,  resided 
in  the  city  of  Waterford,  in  Ireland,  a  man  of  considerable 
wealth  ;  my  grand  mother  Susannah  was  of  a  noted  family  of 
the  Radcliffes.  Their  family  consisted  of  seven  sons  and  one 
daughter  ;  the  sons  were,  John,  James,  Edward,  Charles,  Josi- 
ah,  Alexander,  and  Daniel.  My  grandfather,  after  giving  his 
sons  a  liberal  education,  settled  them  in  some  professional  busi¬ 
ness  ;  but  what  particular  occupations  or  business  I  am  unable 
to  say,  except  that  the  two  eldest  sons,  John  and  James,  were 
put  in  command  of  two  ships  engaged  in  the  African  slave-trade. 
My  father,  Daniel,  the  youngest  son,  was  continued  at  school, 
and  my  grandfather  about  that  time  dying,  my  father  was  left 
under  the  control  of  his  mother,  who  continued  him  at  school 
until  he  completed  his  education,  as  far  as  wras  intended.  He 
being  of  a  restless  disposition,  became  dissatisfied  with  his 
mother’s  plans  respecting  his  future  course  of  life  :  every  prop¬ 
osition  he  made  to  his  mother  was  discountenanced  and  abso¬ 
lutely  rejected,  and  she  on  the  other  hand,  being  of  a  resolute 
and  determined  mind,  forced  him  to  obedience  contrary^  to  his 
will.  His  mother,  however,  furnished  him  with  a  sufficient 
amount  of  money  necessary  for  his  expenses  on  all  occasions,  re¬ 
quiring  at  the  same  time,  a  strict  account  of  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  expended.  While  matters  were  in  this  state  between 
them,  he  determined  to  leave  his  country  and  sail  for  America. 
This  design  he  had  to  keep  a  profound  secret,  for  if  his  plans 
weie  discovered  by  his  mother,  immediate  steps  would  be  taken 
to  pi  event  his  leaving.  He  found  an  opportunity  of  conferring 


13 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

with  the  captain  of  a  vessel,  then  bound  for  America — perhaps 
for  the  sake  of  getting  some  money.  The  captain  agreed  to 
favor  his  plans,  and  also  assisted  him  in  devising  schemes  to 
obtain  the  requisite  amount  of  funds  from  his  mother.  Success 
favored  his  plans,  and  all  things  were  arranged  satisfactorily, 
for  my  father.  When  the  ship  was  ready  to  sail,  he  was  con¬ 
veyed  on  board  without  the  knowledge,  or  even  suspicion,  of 
any  of  his  friends,  and  accordingly  sailed  for  America.  The 
exact  age  of  my  father  at  that  time,  I  am  unable,  positively  to 
give,  because  I  am  without  dates,  and  can  only  guess  from  sub¬ 
sequent  events  :  at  all  events  it  was  while  he  was  under  control 
of  his  mother,  and  not  authorized  to  manage  his  own  affairs. 
He  landed  at  Philadelphia,  and  there  got  into  some  temporary 

*  i 

business,  being  a  good  penman  and  calculator,  for  I  believe  I 
can  say,  without  being  in  error,  he  was  one  of  the  first  class  of 
penman  I  have  ever  met  with  ;  he  was  so  considered,  at  least, 
by  those  who  professed  to  be  good  judges,  besides  which  he 
stood  in  the  first  class  in  arithmetic.  He  next  undertook  to 
teach  an  English  school  in  the  country,  near  Philadelphia,  and 
continued  in  that  business  until  the  commencement  of  what  was 
called  the  French  and  Indian  war.  He  then  quit  his  school 
and  joinec^the  army — I  think  according  to  his  statement  to  me, 
this  was  in  1754.  He  continued  in  the  army  until  some  time  in 
the  winter  after  Braddock  was  defeated,  and  his  time  of  service 
expiring,  he  quit  the  army  and  returned  to  Philadelphia,  when 
some  short  time  after  he  married  my  mother  ;  this  was  early  in 
the  winter  of  1756.  He  again  resumed  his  former  occupation  of 
school  teaching,  out  in  the  country,  where  he  continued  about  five  * 
years.  People  were  at  that  time  emigrating  to  the  South* ;  but  be¬ 
fore  I  proceed  further,  I  must  here  mention  a  circumstance  which 
occurred  one  day  while  my  father  was  at  his  school.  The  house 
caught  fire,  and  my  mother  with  difficulty,  saved  her  children, 
while  the  house  and  every  article  in  it  were  consumed. 

My  father,  in  order  to  secure  land  on  which  to  support  a 


14 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


family  tliat  appeared  to  bo  increasing,  determined  to  look  in 
the  South  for  the  object,  and  immediately  set  out  in  the  spriug 
of  1763,  in  order  to  view  the  country.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  perhaps  in  the  month  of  October,  he  started  with  his  fam¬ 
ily  for  his  place  of  destination,  and  had  arrived  within  four 
miles  of  it  when  he  stopped  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Jourdau.  In 
the  morning,  my  mother  was  unable  to  proceed,  and  the  good 
man  furnished  my  father  with  a  house,  or  rather  a  cabin,  in 
which  to  shelter  the  family  from  the  weather,  at  which  place  my 
mother  brought  me  forth  on  the  22d  November.  Thus  was  I 
born  by  the  way  and  have  been  a  wayfaring  man  ever  since. 
My  father  proceeded  to  build  some  kind  of  shelter,  and  improve 
the  land  on  which  he  had  determined  to  settle,  and  move  his 
family,  so  soon  as  my  mother's  situation  admitted.  The  place 
was  then  supposed  to  be  within  the  limits  of  North  Carolina 
and  then  called  Tryon  County,  and  my  father  was  appointed 
Clerk  of  the  first  court  that  was  ever  held  in  the  countv,  called 
Tryon  Court ;  but  afterwards,  when  the  boundary  of  the  State 
was  ascertained,  it  fell  about  four  miles  in  the  State  of  South 

Carolina,  in  what  was  called  York  County,  or  District.  Of 

» 

my  mother  I  have  but  a  very  imperfect  recollection  ;  however, 
as  well  as  I  can  remember  the  statement  given  metier  parents 
had  emigrated  from  Ireland  previous  to  the  time  that  iny  father 
came  over  and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  Her  name  was  Eliza¬ 
beth  Helarid  ;  she  was  a  small  woman  and  of  a  delicate  consti¬ 
tution,  and  old  women,  who  were  her  neighbors,  have  since  spo¬ 
ken  of  her  to  me  in  highly  flattering  terms.  She  lived  to  have 
seven  children,  of  which  I  was  the  fourth  ;  three  sons  and  four 
daughters.  She  died  a  few  days  aficr  the  birth  of  her  seventh 
child,  and  it  died  a  few  days  after  her.  My  father  was  then 
left  with  six  children,  all  young.  I  was  about  three  years  old. 
Some  of  the  neighboring  women  took  three  of  my  sisters,  and 
my  father  retained  his  sons  at  home,  I  being  one  of  that  num¬ 
ber.  Occasionally,  a  neighboring  woman,  who  had  no  children, 


REVOUU'TIONARY  SOLDIER. 


15 

would  take  me  with  her  and  keep  me  sometime.  My  father 
continued  to  stay  at  home  and  keep  house,  after  some  manner,  I 
know  not  how,  for  perhaps  about  fourteen  months,  when  he 
married  a  young  widow,  with  one  child  ;  who,  after  marriage 
with  my  father,  had  thirteen  children.  I  recollect  to  have  eat- 
en  at  my  father’s  table,  when  fifteen  of  his  children,  all  grown, 
and  mostly  all  heads  of  families,  sat  at  the  same  table.  It  was 
my  father’s  practice  to  be  engaged  in  teaching  every  winter 
season  and  working  on  his  farm  during  the  summer  ;  so  soon 
as  the  marriage  with  bis  second  wife  took  place  I  was  put  at 
school.  During  the  summer  season,  the  schoolhouse  was  ahvays 
occupied  by  some  other  teacher,  but  was  invariably  reserved 
for  my  father  during  the  winter.  In  summer,  I  was  only  sent 
to  school  at  intervals,  as  I  could  not  be  spared  out  of  the  farm, 
for  I  was  put  to  ploughing  before  I  could  turn  the  plough  at 
the  end  of  the  land. 

My  father  was  rigid  in  his  discipline,  both  at  school  and  at 
home,  and  every  rule  that  he  laid  down,  must  be  strictly  com¬ 
plied  with,  or  on  failure,  punishment  was  the  inevitable  conse¬ 
quence,  and  I  often  thought  he  used  more  severity  towards  me 
than  necessary,  in  order  to  make  me  an  example  for  others.  So 
it  was,  I  was  continued  at  school,  sometimes  under  his  tuition 
and  sometimes  under  that  of  other  teachers,  until  I  was  about 
twelve  years  old ;  but,  by  the  way,  I  always  got  more  indulgence 
when  under  the  control  of  any  other  teacher,  than  of  my  father. 

My  father  was  also  a  man  of  strict  morals  and  never  ad¬ 
mitted  any  immoral  conversation  or  conduct  in  his  presence,  or 
otherwise  ;  if  the  same  was  reported  to  him,  he  would  punish 
‘  the  offender.  He  wms  also  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath 
day,  consequently  he  enjoined  it  on  all  his  family  to  attend 
to  religious  duties,  and  on  that  day  the  Bible  must  be  read, 
and  every  Sunday  evening  a  certain  portion  must  be  com¬ 
mitted  to  memory  and  rehearsed  under  his  inspection,  togethei 
with  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  and  what  is  called  the  Larger  and 


16 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


Shorter  Catechism.  There  was  no  fishing,  shooting,  hunting  or 
visiting  permitted  on  that  day,  or  trading  or  dealing  of  any 
kind  whatever,  nor  was  it  fashionable  in  the  neighborhood. 
I  omitted  to  mention  in  the  proper  place,  that  agreeable  to  the 
rules  of  the  Church  to  which  my  father  belonged,  all  children 
were  presented  to  the  Church  when  young,  for  baptism.  Accord¬ 
ingly  I  was  presented  and  was  baptized  by  a  clergyman,  to 
whom  my  father  was  somewhat  partial,  named  James  Potter, 
after  whom  I  was  called  ;  hence  the  name,  J.  P. 

But  to  return  to  my  subject — when  I  was  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  I  had  learned  to  read  English  pretty  well  and 
write  a  fair  hand,  and  gained  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  arith¬ 
metic  and  my  father  proposed  sending  me  to  college,  in  order 
to  prepare  me  for  studying  divinity,  but  I,  not  feeling  a  willing¬ 
ness,  objected  and  my  father  being  somewhat  straitened  in 
circumstances  on  account  of  an  increasing  family,  determined  I 
should  engage  in  some  mechanical  occupation,  and  proposed 
binding  me  to  a  tailor.  I  objected  to  that  also,  and  sug¬ 
gested  that  I  would  rather  work  in  wood,  but  he  took  his  own 
way  in  the  matter  and  bound  me  to  a  tailor  by  the  name  of 
McMavey,  for  the  term  of  five  years.  It  was  stipulated  in  the 
contract  that  my  father  vTas  to  furnish  all  my  necessary  cloth¬ 
ing,  and  that  I  should  not,  during  my  apprenticeship,  be  remov¬ 
ed  out  of  the  State  or  county.  The  man  to  whom  I  was  bound, 
was  a  man  of  very  agreeable  disposition,  and  remarkably  good- 
humored,  a  good  workman,  very  attentive  to  business,  and  of 
sober,  industrious  habits,  so  that  I  found  myself  placed  in  quite 
an  agreeable  situation.  When  I  was  placed  under  him,  his 
family  was  small,  having  only  a  wife  and  one  child,  and 
another  apprentice  boy  something  older  than  myself,  and  who 
had  been  at  work  sometime.  We  then  worked  regularly  in  the 
shop  ;  for  my  own  part,  I  was  put  to  some  trifling  business 
such  as  sewing  up  lining,  &c.  I  had  been  at  work  about  two 
months  when  Christmas  came  on — and  here  1  must  relate  a 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


17 


•little  anecdote.  The  principal  and  his  lady  were  invited  to  a 
parly  among  their  friends,  and  the  other  boy  was  permitted  to 
go  to  his  father’s  to  spend  the  holidays,  while  it  devolved  on 
me  to  stay  at  home  and  keep  house.  There  was  nothing  left 
me  in  charge  to  do,  only  to  take  care  of  the  house.  There  was 
a  large  cat  that  generally  lay  about  the  fire.  In  order  to  try 
my  mechanical  powers,  I  concluded  to  make  a  suit  of  clothing 
for  puss,  and  for  my  purpose  gathered  some  scraps  of  cloth  that 
lay  about  the  shop-board,  and  went  to  work  as  hard  as  I  could. 
Late  in  the  evening  I  got  my  suit  of  clothes  finished  ;  I  caught 
the  cat,  put  on  the  whole  suit — coat,  vest  and  small-clothes — but¬ 
toned  all  on  tight,  and  set  down  my  cat  to  inspect  the  fit ;  un¬ 
fortunately  for  me  there  was  a  hole  through  the  floor  close  to 
the  fireplace,  just  large  enough  for  the  cat  to  pass  down  ;  after 
making  some  efforts  to  get  rid  of  the  clothes,  and  failing,  pussy 
descended  through  the  hole  and  disappeared  ;  the  floor  was 
tight  and  the  house  underpinned  with  brick,  so  there  was  no 
chance  of  pursuit.  I  consoled  myself  with  a  hope  that  the  cat 
would  extricate  itself  from  its  incumbrance,  but  not  so  ;  night 
came  and  I  had  made  on  a  good  fire  and  seated  myself  for  some 
two  or  three  hours  after  dark,  when  who  should  make  their  ap¬ 
pearance  but  my  master  and  mistress  and  two  young  men,  all  in 
good  humor,  with  two  or  three  bottles  of  rum.  After  all  were 
seated  around  the  fire,  who  should  appear  amongst  us  but  the 
cat  in  his  uniform.  I  was  struck  speechless,  the  secret  was  out 
and  no  chance  of  concealing ;  the  cat  was  caught,  the  whole 
work  inspected  and  the  question  asked,  is  this  your  day  s  work? 
I  was  obliged  to  answer  in  the  affirmative  ;  I  would  then  have 
been  willing  to  have  taken  a  good  whipping,  and  let  it  stop 
there,  but  no,  to  complete  my  mortification  the  clothes  were 
carefully  taken  off  the  cat  and  hung  up  in  the  shop  for  the 
inspection  of  all  customers  that  came  in.  I  lived  and  went  on 
very  agreeably  for  two  years  and  two  months,  when  the  revolu¬ 
tionary  war  began  to  make  some  interruption  in  the  South,  and 
3 


18 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


the  man  with  whom  I  lived  took  a  notion  to  move  high  up  in 
North  Carolina,  and  as  he  was  hound  not  to  remove  me,  gave 
me  up  again  to  my  father. 

After  returning  home,  the  affairs  of  the  country  became 
more  unsettled,  and  the  people  began  to  divide  into  parties.  It 
was  again  proposed  I  should  go  to  college.  Accordingly  ar¬ 
rangements  were  made  and  I  was  sent  to  Charlotte,  in  North 
Carolina.  I  had  not  remained  there  long  until  times  became 
more  troublesome,  and  I  was  again  recalled  home. 

It  was  then  customary  for  intinerant  shoemakers  to  pass 
through  the*  country  and  stop  at  the  house  of  any  farmer  and 
make  shoes  for  the  family,  and  pass  on  to  the  next  house  where 
they  were  wanted.  It  was  also  a  custom  for  every  farmer  to 
tan  his  own  leather.  It  had  been  the  practice  of  my  father  to 
have  one  of  these  shoemakers  every  winter,  and  his  family  in¬ 
creasing  rapidly  and  he  being  somewhat  straitened  in  circum¬ 
stances,  concluded  to  have  me  taught  how  to  make  shoes.  Ac¬ 
cordingly  he  agreed  with  an  old  man  wlfb  set  me  to  work,  gave 
me  some  instructions,  and  I  worked  about  three  weeks,  when  I 

came  home  with  some  shoes  as  a  sample  of  my  performance. 

♦ 

My  father  was  a  little  hard  to  please  and  disliked  the  work,  and 
truly  it  would  not  recommend  itself.  I  gave  asfair  a  statement 
as  I  could  of  the  inattention  to  business,  on  the  part  of  the  old 
man,  and  it  was  determined  that  I  should  go  to  another,  who  it 
was  thought,  would  be  more  attentive.  The  latter  was  a  man 
who  kept  a  shop,  also,  and  was  very  industrious.  There  were 
two  who  worked  at  the  business,  and  both  took  every  pains 
they  could  to  instruct  me,  and  I  soon  made  pretty  smart  im¬ 
provement  which  pleased  my  father  very  much.  With  these 
two  men  I  worked  one  winter  season.  I  disliked  the  business 
and  made  great  complaint  to  my  father,  and  as  he  was  inclined 
to  industry  and  economy,  he  concluded  he  would  put  me  to 
weaving.  It  was  then  the  fashion  for  every  family  to  manufac¬ 
ture  every  article  of  clothing  that  was  worn,  and  the  loom  was 


19 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

occupied  by  the  men  while  the  females  performed  the  spinning*. 
Cotton  was  little  used,  then— only  as  fillings,  as  it  was  called, 
for  shirts,  and  clothing  for  females — while  flax  and  wool  com- 
posed  the  main  materials  for  domestic  clothing  ;  as  to  broad 
cloth,  it  was  but  little  used  among  the  common  people,  and  it 
was  not  uncommon  for  the  son  when  grown  up  to  become  heir 
to  his  father’s  wedding  coat,  if  his  father  had  been  able  to  pro¬ 
cure  broad  cloth  for  that  purpose. 

It  was  concluded  that  I  should  learn  to  weave  to  save 
some  expense  in  that  way,  and  in  the  spring  season  I  was  put 
under  the  care  of  an  Irish  weaver  to  learn  that  business,  where 
I  continued  during  the  summer.  1  was  not  averse  to  the  weav¬ 
ing  business  and  made  considerable  proficiency  in  the  trade  I 
could  then  weave  ten  yards  daily  of  what  was  called  seven 
hundred  linen.  I  had  worked  all  this  time  for  nothing,  save 
information.  Another  weaver  proposed  to  my  father  to  give 
me  wages.  Mv  father  agreed  and  hired  me  to  him  ;  this  man 
kept  three  looms  and  sometimes  four  in  constant  employ.  I 
must  here  relate  a  little  anecdote  :  I  have  mentioned  before, 
that  my  father  was  rigid  respecting  Sunday,  though  not  more  so 
than  some  of  his  neighbors.  I  had  no  time  to  lose  from  the 
loom  during  the  week,  so  one  Sunday  morning  1  concluded  I 
must  go  home,  some  six  or  seven  miles  to  get  some  clothing. 
My  employer  objected  as  it  would  be  a  breach  of  the  Sabbath  ; 
I  urged  the  necessity  on  the  ground  of  losing  no  time  in  the 
week.  He  still  stood  opposed  to  the  motion,  threatening  me  with 
the  vengeance  of  my  father  and  utterly  refusing  his  consent. 
While  we  were  discussing  the  subject,  a  flock  of  sheep  in  a  pas¬ 
ture  fronting  the  door  began  to  run  and  there  appeared  to  be 
some  confusion  among  them  which  drew  the  attention  of  the 
old  man.  A  wolf  had  gotten  among  them,  and  before  all  hands 
could  arrest  his  progress  he  had  killed  four,  right  in  full 
view.  The  weaver  then  pleaded  the  right  of  necessity  to  skin 
the  sheep  and  save  his  mutton,  so  I  left  him  to  save  his  meat 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


20 

and  I  went  home  to  abide  the  consequences  of  my  father’s 
wrath  on  the  subject.  This,  if  I  mistake  not, was  of  1^79. 

.It  was  the  custom  in  these  times,  for  every  farmer  to 
make  all  the  provisions  he  wanted  for  his  use,  viz.:  corn,  wheat, 
rye,  barley,  oats,  pork,  beef,  and  vegetables  ;  also,  potatoes,  and 
whatever  else  was  necessary  ;  or,  on  failure,  to  pay  his  neigh¬ 
bor  for  whatever  he  might  want,  besides  the  risk  of  being  called 
lazy,  unless  sickness  or  some  misfortune  occurred,  in  which  case 
the  neighbors  were  all  very  liberal  to  each  other.  Besides,  if 
so  disposed,  he  could  keep  liquor  about  his  house,  which  was 
very  general.  He  had  his  own  malt,  rye,  corn,  etc.,  prepared 
and  ground  at  the  mill,  and  taken  to  the  still-house,  where  he 
received  one  gallon  for  every  bushel  of  meal  he  delivered,  or 
one  half  the  quantity  that  the  whole  produced,  took  it  home, 
stored  it  away  in  the  cellar,  and  used  it  at  pleasure.  Here  I 
must  remark,  that  my  father  was  very  economical  in  his  distri¬ 
bution,  and  reserved  his  whiskey  for  certain  occasions.  My 
step-mother’s  son  and  myself,  being  nearly  the  same  age,  were 
always  together,  when  I  was  about  home  and  would  never  di¬ 
vulge  any  thing  on  each  other  ;  my  step-mother,  by  the  way, 
was  fully  as  great  an  economist  as  my  father.  We  were  both 
named  James,  and  for  distinction,  I  was  often  called  Potter.  We 

seldom  got  a  dram  more  than  once  in  the  week  and  thought  our 

* 

rations  rather  small  ;  we  accordingly  prepared  us  two  small 
gourds,  cleaned  them  out  and  converted  them  into  bottles  ;  they 
contained  not  more  than  half  a  pint  each.  In  my  father’s  ab¬ 
sence  we  would  keep  a  strict  watch  over  the  house,  and  when 
the  old  lady  would  disappear  for  the  purpose  of  washing,  or  on 
some  other  business,  which  often  happened,  we  would  imme¬ 
diately  repair  to  the  house,  open  the  hatch-way  of  the  cellar, 

«  when  one  of  us  would  descend  and  fill  the  two  gourds,  while 
the  other  would  keep  a  good  lookout  for  fear  of  being  caught  ; 
we  always  came  off  clear  without  being  suspected  :  our  two 
gourds  lasted  us  about  three  weeks  or  longer,  for  we  used  it 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


21 


very  sparingly.  At  harvest  time,  or  in  gathering  corn,  it  was 
a  practice  for  every  man  to  invite  all  the  neighbors,  male  and 
famale,  to  assist  in  reaping,  or  husking  his  corn,  for  women 
thought  it  no  hardship  or  disgrace,  to  labor  in  the  fields  ;  and 
some  females,  who  stood  high  in  society,  were  hard  to  beat,  in 
the  field,  or  at  a  corn  heap.  In  the  evening,  or  at  night,  when 
the  labor  was  over,  it  generally  wound  up  with  a  dance,  and  it 
was  not  rare  to  see  women,  more  than  forty  years  of  age,  cheer¬ 
fully  join  in  the  same  dance  with  the  young.  The  old  men  who 
did  not  choose  to  dance,  would  sit  by  the  fire,  look  on,  and  take 
their  social  glass  of  “  over  lively,”  and  in  the  meantime,  be  sure 
to  sing  a  few  songs.  The  boys  selected  a  place  at  a  convenient 
distance  from  the  house,  kindled  up  a  lire,  and  commenced  run¬ 
ning,  jumping,  and  wrestling.  They  were  always  paired  or 
matched  by  some  of  the  larger  class,  chosen  as  judges.  When 
the  exercises  were  gone  through,  there  came  on  a  boxing  match  ; 
any  one  that  declined  was  declared  a  coward,  yet  some  would 
stand  it.  For  my  own  part,  I  disliked  it,  but  was  unwilling  to 
own  it,  and  determined  to  stand  to  the  test.  The  rule  was  thus  : 
A  mark  was  made  on  the  ground,  the  parties  placed  opposite, 
each  with  his  toe  to  the  mark,  then  a  stick,  handkerchief 
or  rope  was  drawn  between  them  and  held  by  two  of  the  judges. 
No  man  was  to  scratch,  bite,  gouge  or  strike  in  the  eye  ;  neither 
was  he  allowed  to  kick,  but  did  the  best  he  could,  and  hit  to  the 
best  advantage  so  as  to  hurt  his  opponent.  So  soon  as  one 
gave  back,  the  victory  was  proclaimed  in  favor  of  the  other ; 
this  was  all  to  be  done  in  good  humor,  without  any  quarreling 
and  if  a  fellow  felt  disposed  to  continue  or  was  dissatisfied,  he 
had  to  wait  for  the  next  time  and  get  his  remedy  in  the  same 
way.  Many  of  us  went  home  pretty  sore  but  never  complained 
for  fear  of  being  punished  by  our  parents.  Some  old  men  sanc¬ 
tioned  the  business,  others  were  strongly  opposed  ;  among  that 
number  my  father  was  one,  and  if  ever  be  found  out  that  I  was  in 
the  boxing  party,  I  was  sure  to  get  a  dressing  which  hurt  worse 
than  all  the  boxing  I  ever  was  in. 


CHAPTER  II. 


TROUBLE  AMONG  THE  TORIES. 


ET  ME  pass  on.  I  began  to  grow  up — times 
v;  began  to  be  troublesome,  and  people  began  to 
divide  into  parties.  Those  that  had  been  good 
friends  in  times  past,  became  enemies  ;  they  be- 
gan  to  watch  each  other  with  jealous  eyes,  and  were  de¬ 
signated  by  the  names  of.  Whig,  and  Tory.  Recruiting 
officers  were  out  in  all  directions,  to  enlist  soldiers..  My 
brother,  cider  than  myself,  enlisted,  and  went  off  to  the 


army.  My  father  remonsi  rated  against  it  but  in  vain.  There 
was  a  Mr.  Moffitt  in  the  neighborhood  who  was  then  captain  of 
the  militia,  was  pretty  shrewd  and  an  active  partizan.  I  had 
often  been  sent  on  business,  by  my  father,  in  various  directions 
through  the  country,  and  was  frequently  employed  by  others  to 
hunt  stray  horses,  Ac.,  consequently  I  became  acquainted  with 
all  the  by-paths  for  twenty  or  thirty  miles  around.  Moffitct  on- 
sultcd  my  father  and  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  be  made  use 
of  merely  as  a  collector  of  news.  In  order  to  prepare  me  for 
business,  I  had  to  receive  several  lectures.  I  was  furnished  with 
documents— sometimes  a  list  of  several  stray  horses  with  marks 
and  brands,  sometimes  with  papers  and  other  business.  I  was 
to  attend  all  public  places,  make  no  inquiry  only  about  the 
business  I  was  sent  on,  and  pay  strict  attention  to  all  that  was 
passing  in  conversation  and  otherwise.  I  succeeded  for  some 
time  without  incurring  the  least  suspicion,  by  which  means  the 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


o<> 

Tories  were  several  times  disappointed  in  tlicir  plans  without 
being  able  to  account  for  the  cause. 

There  existed  at  that  time,  at  least  three  classes  of  "Whigs, 
and  three  of  Tories.  The  first  class  of  Whigs  were  those  who 
determined  to  fight  It  out  to  the  last  let  the  consequence  be 
what  it  might;  the  second  class  were  those  who  would  fight  a 
little  when  the  wind  was  favorable,  but  so  soon  as  it  shifted  to 
an  unfavorable  point  would  draw  back  and  give  up  all  for  lost ; 
the  third  class  were  those  who  were  favorable  to  the  cause,  pro¬ 
vided  it  prospered  and  they  could  enjoy  the  benefit  but  would 
not  risk  one  hair  of  their  heads  to  attain  it. 

There  was  a  class  of  Tories  who  I  believe  were  Tories 
from  principle  ;  another  class  believed  it  impossible  for  the 
cause  of  liberty  to  succeed,  and  thought  in  the  end,  whatever 
they#got,  they  would  be  eftabled  to  hold,  and  so  become  rich — 
they  resorted  to  murdering  and  plunder,  and  every  means 
to  get  hold  of  property  ;  another  class  were  Tories  cn- 
tirely  through  fear,  and  fit  for  nothing  only  to  be  made  tools  of 
by  the  others,  and  all  cowards  too. 

There  was  another  class  of  men  amongst  us,  who  pretended 
neutrality  entirely  on  both  sides  ;  they  pretended  friendship  to 
all,  and  prayed,  “Good  God!’7  “Good  Devil!77  not  knowing 
into  whose  hands  they  might  fall.  Of  these  last  there  were 
several  in  the  neighborhood,  and  by  some  means,  some  one  or 
more  became  acquainted  with  the  part  I  had  acted  ;  it  became 
known  to  the  Tories  by  the  same  means.  They  swore  revenge. 
By  some  of  the  same  people  this  was  communicated  to  me,  and 
I  was  cautioned  of  the  danger  that  awaited  me.  It  was  also 
communicated  to  my  father,  and  he  advised  me  not  to  act  in 
that  part  any  longer,  else  I  would  suffer  the  penalty  if  caught. 

I  took  some  alarm,  and  proposed  enlisting  in  order  to  avoid 
danger.  My  father  counseled  me  otherwise  ;  he  said  the  time 
vras  at  hand  when  volunteers  would  be  called  for,  and  by  join¬ 
ing  them  I  would  be  equally  safe ;  if  I  went  to  battle  I  stood 


24 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


as  fair  a  chance  ;  besides,  I  would  be  less  exposed,  less  fatigued, 
and  if  there  should  be  any  time  of  resting,  I  could  come  home 
and  enjoy  it ;  he  said  he  had  had  some  experience  and  learned 
a  lesson  from  that. 

The  British  and  Tories  had  overrun  Georgia,  and  even 
driven  out  the  celebrated  Clarke,  with  all  his  veterans,  as  far 
as  the  very  confines  of  North  Carolina.  All  the  south  and 
south-western  parts  of  South  Carolina  were  nearly  subjugated, 
and  but  a  small  part  stood  out  with  firmness,  and  that  part  it¬ 
self  divided.  The  British  were  pressing  on  Charleston,  and  had 
eventually  got  possession  of  it,  and  now  began  to  come  “  squally 
times.”  So  soon  as  Charleston  fell,  there  was  a  proclamation 
for  all  to  come  forward,  submit,  and  take  protection  ;  peace  and 

pardon  should  be  granted.  In  order  to  expedite  the  business, 

*  ■ 

there  were  officers  sent  out  in  various  directions,  with  guards 

or  companies  of  men,  to  receive  the  submission  of  the  people. 

Vast  numbers  flocked  in  and  submitted  ;  some  through  fear, 

some  through  willingness,  and  others,  perhaps,  through  a  hope 

that  all  things  would  settle  down  and  war  cease.  But  not  so  ; 

there  was  some  conditions  annexed,  that  some  of  the  patriots  of 

the  dav  could  not  submit  to  and  therefore  determined  to  hold 
•/ 

out  a  little  longer.  Among  the  officers  sent  out  on  this  occasion, 
there  was  one  Lord  Hook,  who  came  up  and  stationed  himself 
at  or  near  Fishing  Creek  at  some  distance  below  where  we 
lived.  His  proclamation  came  out  and  a  day  was  appointed  to 
deliver  his  speeches.  Almost  all  the  men  of  families  attended. 
He  got  up,  harangued  the  people  in  a  very  rough  and  insult¬ 
ing  manner  and  submitted  his  propositions  for  their  acceptance. 
Some  bowed  to  his  sceptre,  but  far  the  greater  part  returned 
home  without  submitting. 

I  omitted  to  mention  in  the  proper  place,  that  in  conversa¬ 
tion  with  my  father  on  the  subject  of  enlistment,  he  observed 
to  me  that  should  volunteers  be  called  which  he  confidently  an¬ 
ticipated,  that  he  would  join  the  ranks  ;  he  said,  “  though  over 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


25 


i 

age  for  the  laws  of  my  country  to  demand  it,  yet  I  think  the 
nature  of  the  case  requires  the  best  energies  of  every  man  who 
is  a  friend  to  liberty.”  Not  many  miles  distant  from  where  this 
Lord  Hook,  whom  I  have  mentioned,  had  made  his  stand,  there 
v~as  a  set  of  ironworks  called  Billy  Hill’s  Ironworks,  which  were 
very  profitable,  both  to  the  proprietor  and  all  the  country 
around.  Lord  Hook,  provoked  at  the  non-compliance  of  the 
people,  determined  to  take  vengeance  ;  and  to  that  end  mustered 
his  forces,  charged  on  the  ironworks,  killed  several  men,  set 
the  works  on  fire,  and  reduced  them  to  ashes.  I  must  here  relate 
the  expression  of  my  father,  when  he  returned  home  from  Lord 
Hook’s  exhibition.  My  step-mother  asked  him  thus  :  “  Well 

Daniel,  what  news?  ”  My  father  replied,  “  Nothing  very  pleasant, 
I  have  come  home  determined  to  take  my  gun  and  when  I  lay 
it  down,  I  lay  down  my  life  with  it ;  ”  then  turning  to  me  said, 
“  my  son  you  may  prepare  for  the  worst ;  the  thing  is  fairly  at 
issue.  We  must  submit  and  become  slaves,  or  fight.  For  my 
part  I  am  determined — to-morrow  I  will  go  and  join  Moffitt.” 
Moffitt,  while  these  things  were  transpiring,  had  been  engaged 
in  raising  volunteers,  to  be  all  mounted  and  ready  at  a  minute’s 
warning,  to  be  called  “  Minute  Men.”  He  had  already  raised 
about  seventy  men.  A  nomination  of  officers  had  taken  place, 
and  he  was  unanimously  chosen  colonel  of  the  troops.  Accord¬ 
ingly,  next  day  we  shouldered  our  guns  and  went  to  Moffitt. 
The  gun  that  I  had  to  take  was  what  was  called  a  blue  barrel 
shot  gun.  When  we  presented  ourselves,  “Well,”  said  the 
colonel  to  my  father,  “  Daniel,  I  suppose  you  intend  to  fight.” 
My  father  said  he  had  come  to  that  conclusion.  “  Well,  James,” 
he  said  to  me,  “  we  shall  have  plenty  for  you  to  do,  and  two  or 
three  more  such,  if  they  could  all  have  as  good  luck  as  you. 
We  will  try  to  take  care  of  you  and  not  let  the  Tories  catch 
you.” 

In  a  few  days  there  was  a  meeting  of  several  officers,  and 

it  was  determined  to  attack  Lord  Hook,  and  take  vengeance 
4 


26 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


for  the  burning  of  the  ironworks.  The  time  and  place  was  ap¬ 
pointed  for  a  rendezvous,  several  parties  united  in  tlie  plan,  we 
met,  mounted  on  horseback,  and  advanced  towards  his  lordship, 
early  in  the  morning.  Not  long  after  sunrise,  we  came  in  sight 
of  their  headquarters,  which  were  in  a  log  building.  In  the 
rear  of  the  building  was  a  large  peach  orchard  ;  at  some  dis¬ 
tance  behind  the  peach  orchard  we  all  dismounted  and  tied  our 
horses  ;  we  then  proceeded  on  foot  through  the  orchard,  think¬ 
ing  the  peach  trees  would  be  a  good  safeguard,  against  the 
charge  of  the  horseman.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  until  the 
sentinels  discovered  us — fired  on  us  and  fled.  The  troops  were 
soon  mounted  and  paraded.  This,  I  confess,  was  a  very  impos¬ 
ing  sight,  at  least  to  me,  for  I  had  never  seen  a  troop  of  British 
horse  before,  and  thought  they  differed  vastly  in  appearance 
from  us — poor  hunting-shirt  fellows.  The  leader  drew  his  sword, 
mounted  his  horse,  and  began  to  storm  and  rave,  and  advanced 
on  us  ;  but  we  kept  close  to  the  peach  orchard.  When  they  had 
got  pretty  near  the  peach  trees,  their  leader  called  out,  “  dis¬ 
perse  you  d — d  rebels,  or  I  will  put  every  man  of  you  to  the 
sword.”  Our  rifle  balls  began  to  whistle  among  them,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  my  Lord  Hook  was  shot  off  his  horse  and  fell  at 
full  length  ;  his  sword  flew  out  of  his  hand  as  he  fell  and  lay  at 
some  distance,  and  both  lay  till  some  of  his  men  gathered  about 
him  and  around  him  two  or  three  times.  At  lenglit  one  halted 
and  pointed  his  sword  downward,  seemed  to  pause  a  moment,  then 
raising  his  sword,  wheeled  off  and  all  started  at  full  gallop. 
We  then  moved  on  to  the  house  without  opposition,  but  all  had 
disappeared.  In  the  yard  sat  two  good  looking  fellows  bleeding 
pretty  freely,  their  horses  standing  at  no  great  distance  :  one 
of  whom  was  shot  through  the  thigh. 

Before  the  body  of  Hook  was  examined,  two  claimed  the 
honor  of  killing  him ;  both  showed  their  guns  and  named  the 
part  of  his  body  they  had  taken  aim  at,  and  both  claimed  the 
swoid.  One  presented  a  large  rifle,  the  other  a  very  small 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


■27 


one.  The  person  having  the  small  gnn,  cried,  “  I  shot  him !  I 
shot  him !  I  shot  two  balls  which  entered  close  under  the  ear.” 
When  Hook  was  examined,  the  two  small  balls  were  found  to 
have  passed  through  the  place  as  described.  We  then  bound 
up  the  wounds  of  the  two  men,  took  three  swords,  three  brace 
of  pistols,  some  powder  and  lead,  perhaps  my  Lord  Hook's 
watch,  and  but  little  else,  and  departed,  every  man  for  his  own 
place.  For  my  own  part,  I  fired  my  old  shot  gun  only  twice 
in  the  action.  I  suppose  I  did  no  more  harm  than  burning  so 
much  powder. 


* 


& 


CHAPTER  III. 

MINUTE  MEN. 


;HE  ONLY  man,  in  that  section  of  country,  who 
had  raised  or  commanded  Minute  Men,  was 
Moffitt.  His  ranks  increased,  in  a  short  time, 
to  number  one  hundred  and  twenty-six,  exclu¬ 
sive  of  our  officers.  The  Tories  became  enra¬ 
ged  at  this  deed  of  cruelty  committed  on  their  worthy 
friends,  and  swore  revenge.  In  a  short  time  we  got  the 
news  that  they  were  preparing  to  give  us  a  blow,  but  of 
their  plans,  we  were  ignorant.  It  was  resolved  that  I  should 
go  on  another  mission  towards  what  was  called  “  upper  Tories,” 
to  find  out  something,  if  practicable.  I  was  mounted  on  a 
pretty  fleet  nag,  with  orders  to  proceed  with  great  caution.  I 
started  on  Saturday  morning,  took  a  circuitous  route,  and  went 
on  until  I  had  proceeded  more  than  twenty  miles,  when  I  got 
to  the  house  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Oats,  on  whom  I  could 
rely.  He  had  a  youug  man  living  with  him  whom  he  had  raised 
from  a  child,  being  an  orphan,  named  Crago.  This  man  lived 
near  a  strong  Tory  settlement,  and  was  obliged  to  act  with  the 
greatest  caution.  Crago  was  quite  a  pleasant  fellow,  well  ac¬ 
quainted  among  them,  and  appeared  to  be  a  great  favorite  with 
the  old  women  and  boys.  He  had  often  been  among  them,  cock 
fighting,  which  was  a  favorite  sport  in  those  days,  and  he  was 
thought  to  be  a  great  hand  at  the  business.  It  was  agreed  that 

Crago  should  ride  with  me  next  day,  beiug  Sunday.  I  was  to 

28 


29 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

pass  as  a  companion  of  Crago’s,  and  bo  altogether  careless, 
while  Crago,  in  his  own  way,  should  elicit  all  the  news  he  could. 
It  was  understood,  at  the  same  time,  that  most  of  the  men  were 
from  home,  except  the  old  ones,  a  sure  sign  that  there  was  a 
movement  on  foot ;  but  not  having  fully  ascertained  it,  we  start¬ 
ed  on  our  journey,  halted  at  three  or  four  houses,  and  found  no 
one  at  home,  but  some  women  and  boys.  They  all  saluted  Cra¬ 
go  with  some  degree  of  kindness,  yet  we  could  get  no  satisfac¬ 
tory  news.  They  would  all  inquire  if  there  was  any  news  from 
Moffitt,  and  make  remarks  intimating  that  lie  w^ould  meet  with 
a  check  before  long.  At  length  we  came  to  another  house,  got 
off  our  horses  and  went  in  ;  here  Crago,  as  usual,  began  to  chat 
with  the  old  woman.  It  was  my  wish,  and  Crago  knew  it,  that 
I  did  not  want  to  be  known  by  name.  I  had  taken  up  an  old 
book  that  lay  close  at  hand,  and  was  perusing  the  same,  when 
an  old  man  entered  the  house,  who  had  been  out  somewhere.  He 
saluted  Crago,  glanced  his  eye  at  me,  and  spoke  to  me,  After 
talking  to  Crago  a  few  moments,  he  turned  around  on  his  seat 
and  said,  “  what  young  man  is  this  you  have  with  you  ?  77  “  Oh, 

it’s  a  young  man  that  lives  away  down  yonder  by  my  uncle’s.77 
“Well,77  said  the  old  man,  “what  news  from  your  uncle’s? — are 
all  well  ?  77  “Oh,  yes.77  “Well,  does  the  young  man  bring 
any  news  from  Moffitt  and  his  gang,  and  what  they  are  doing  ? 77 
“  Oh,  no,  he  is  a  young  man  that  has  been  working  at  the  tailor 
business  down  by  uncle’s  and  knows  nothing  about  Moffitt,  for 
they  never  go  in  that  quarter  ,*  they  are  always  about  Broad 
Biver  or  Ticketty,  or  lower  down.77  “Well,”  said  the  old  man, 
“  be  they  where  they  may,  I  think  they  will  get  something  to  do 
before  long.  There  is  a  great  meeting  of  our  friends  to  take 
place  upon  Buffalo,  next  Thursday  night,  at  Elliot’s,  and  they 
are  going  to  send  down  to  the  Brushy  Fork  and  Sandy  Biver 
boys  to  be  ready  to  join  them,  and  I  think  if  they  all  get  to¬ 
gether  they  will  soon  settle  the  business  with  Moffitt  and  all  his 
gang.  There  will  be  another  meeting  on  the  South  Fork  about 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  * 


30 

Ramsour’s  before  long;  so  I  think  we  will  have*  the  country- 
dear  before  long.”  “Well,”  said  Crago,  “I  wish  they  may 
have  good  luck  for  the  times  are  troublesome  ;  I  wish  they  may 
settle  it  at  once.”  “ Settle  it,”  exclaimed  the  old  man,  “if  they 
would  all  give  up  as  they  ought  to  do,  and  as  they  will  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  do  at  last,  they  might  easily  settle  it  and  save  a  great 
many  lives  and  save  their  property  besides  ;  but  it  will  be  set¬ 
tled  to  their  cost  and  that  before  long— you  will  see  it  then. 
The  King  has  men  enough  to  conquer  them  without  help  and 

more  than  half  the  people  are  on  his  side.” 

All  this  time  I  had  confined  myself  closely  to  my  book,  not 

saying  a  word  on  either  side,  hoping  my  silence  would  keep  me 
from  being  questioned — and  it  did.  It  will  here  be  remember¬ 
ed,  that  I  and  Crago  had  often  been  together  before,  and  were 
no  strangers  to  each  other.  We  took  dinner  with  the  old  man 
and  left  him.  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy  still  hanging  upon  him. 
Crago  and  I  returned  to  my  friend  Oats,  in  the  evening,  and 
eommunicated  the  outlines  of  our  adventure,  staying  all  night. 
In  the  morning  early,  I  started  on  my  way  back,  taking  a  dif¬ 
ferent  route  from  that  which  I  had  gone.  After  riding  some 
ten  or  twelve  miles,  I  had  to  fall  into  a  main  road  that  passes 
through  the  gap  of  King’s  mountain.  At  this  place  lived  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Dixon,  a  little  advanced  in  years,  having 
a  family — daughters,  five  in  number,  and  two  small  boys.  He 
was  in -good  circumstances  for  the  times,  and  lived  in  a  very 
public  place,  situated  on  the  northern  road,  where  all,  passing 
from  above  or  below,  had  to  cross  the  mountain,  and  there  was 
no  other  house  on  the  road  for  about  twenty  miles.  He  kept  a 
.good  farm  and  consequently  was  in  a  way  of  making  something. 
Here  I  halted,  my  appetite  being  up,  to  .  get  something  to  eat. 
I  was  well  acquainted  with  this  man  and  his  family,  and  was 
under  no  apprehension  of  danger,  seated  at  the  table,  with  some 
bread,  butter,  and  milk  before  me,  which  I  was  always  fond  of. 
While  I  was  thus  enjoying  my  meal,  an  old  woman  and  a  boy 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


31 


rode  up  to  tlie  gate,  mounted  on  a  couple  of  small  nags,  with 
some  baggage  on  each.  They  alighted  without  ceremony,  came 
in  the  house,  and  appeared  quite  familiar  with  the  place.  “  Good 
morning,  Mr,  Dixon,”  said  the  woman.  “  Good  morning,  Mrs, 
Hedgepith,”  he  replied,  shaking  hands  very  cordially.  The  old 
lady  drew  a  pipe  out  of  her  pocket,  went  to  the  fire,  after  salu¬ 
ting  all  the  females,  filled  her  pipe,  and  lighting  the  same,  com¬ 
menced  smoking.  “  La  me !  Mr.  Dixon,”  said  she,  “  I  want 
something  to  eat  for  myself  and  little  son  ;  we  have  been  riding 
all  morning — have  not  had  a  mouthful  to  eat  and  feel  hungry.” 
“  How  far  have  you  come  ?”  said  Mr.  Dixon.  “  Why,  clear 
from  Mr.  Hopes,  away  down  yonder.  I  would  have  stopped  at 
your  brother’s,  but  I  was  afraid  ;  for  they  are  a  bad  set  down 
about  your  brother’s  there,  you  know.  It  was  late  too,  but  I 
was  afraid,  and  I  kept  on  all  the  way  to  Mr.  Hope’s,  and  it  was 
some  time  in  the  night  before  I  got  there.  Mr.  Hope  asked  us 
to  stay  and  get  breakfast,  but  I  was  in  a  hurry  and  could  not 
stay  :  I  thought  I  would  stop  at  Henry’s,  but  there  was  five  or 
six  men  there,  and  I  did  not  like  to  stop,  for  that  is  another  bad 
place  you  know.  I  was  afraid  they  would  serve  me  like  they 
did  the  last  time  I  was  up  there  ;  I  came  up  the  other  road,  for 
it  is  the  nighest ;  I  met  with  some  of  Moffitt’s  set  and  they  took 
away  my  little  son’s  beast,  and  left  us  one  between  us.  I  had 
papers  then,  and  do  you  think  they  didn’t  search  all  my  pockets 
and  took  all  my  papers,  and  my  little  boy’s  beast  in  the  bargain. 
But  I  brought  no  papers  this  time  ;  so  I  think  they  will  hardly 
find  out  my  business  this  time.”  I  happened  to  be  present  at 
the  time  of  the  search,  and  discovery  of  the  papers,  and  imme¬ 
diately  recognized  the  old  woman  and  her  son,  and  kept  silent 
all  the  while  she  was  talking.  The  lady  of  the  house  observed 
she  had  nothing  cooked  or  ready,  and  told  her  she  had  better 
have  her  horses  stripped  and  wait  for  dinner,  which  would  not 
be  long,  saying  at  the  same  time,  “  Come  girls,  it  is  time  you 
were  getting  dinner.”  11  Oh,  la  !  I  cannot  wait,”  said  the  old 


32 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


woman,  “  I  am  in  a  great  hurry ;  I  am  obliged  to  be  back  day- 
after-to-morrow.  A  little  bread  and  milk  will  do  if  you  have 
it — I  cannot  wait  for  dinner.’7  “  Well,77  said  the  woman,  “  I 
have  plenty  of  bread  and  milk,  but  I  would  rather  you  would 
stay  and  get  something  better.77  “  Oh,  la,  no !  no,  I  think  I  can¬ 
not  stay.77  So  the  bread  and  milk  being  prepared,  the  woman 
and  son  commenced  on  it  with  a  good  grace.  The  man  of  the 
house  winked  at  me,  and  began  some  inquiries.  “Well,77  said 
he,  “what  is  all  the  news  below?77  Oh,  la,  dear  me!  there  is 
none  very  good  about  us  ;  there  is  that  old  turkey-cock  of  a 
Sumpter  just  below  us  and  he  has  a  troublesome  set  about  him — 
we  can  get  no  rest  for  them ;  and  there’s  Moffitt  and  his  set  has 
been  down  close  by  us,  not  long  since — I  wonder  where  abouts 
he  is  now? — haven’t  heard  lately.77  The  old  man  said,  “they 
were  down  about  Turkey  Creek  ;  where  they  are  now  I  know 
not.”  “  Oh,”  said  the  old  woman,  “  I  believe  it  is  hard  to  tell 
where  they  are,  for  they  never  stay  long  in  one  place ;  but  they 
will  all  get  plenty  to  do  before  long — they  will  find  warmer 
times  than  when  they  killed  Lord  Hook.  There’s  Neel,  and 
Watson,  and  Moffitt,  and  even  old  Billy  Hill  must  have  had  a 
hand  in  the  business.  I  wish  Billy  Hill  had  another  set  of  iron¬ 
works  to  burn  down  •  I’ll  be  bound  he  would  soon  have  it  done 
for  him,—  and  there  is  old  Brattin  and  Frank  Boss  are  no  bet- 
ter  than  the  rest ;  they  will  get  plenty  to  do  before  long  to 
keep  them  from  searching  old  women’s  pockets.  The  Sandy 
River  Boys  are  fixing  for  them,  and  they  have  heard  that  the 
Upper  Boys  are  getting  ready  to  help  them — I  have  come  up 
to  see  when  they  will  be  ready,  and  hurry  them  on.  The  Sandy 
Biver  Boys  will  all  be  ready  by  Saturday  next,  and  they  want 
the  Upper  Boys  to  meet  them  on  Sunday.  I  am  going  up  to 
old  friend  Ponder  s  ;  he  has  some  sons,  smart  fellows  ;  I  know 
they  will  help,  and  then  I  will  go  up  to  Floyd’s  ;  there  will  be 
more  help,  and  I  know  they  will  hurry  on  the  others  ;  when 
they  all  get  together  I  think  they  will  be  able  to  settle  with 


REV OLITIO'n AK Y  SOLDIER . 


o  O 

oo 


Moffitt,  if  they  find  him,  and  they  will  soon  hunt  him  up.  I 
wonder  your  brother  don’t  know  better ;  he  lias  some  five  sons 
and  he  will  ruin  them  all.77  “  Ah,77  said  Dixon,  “I  have  talked 
with  him  on  the  subject,  but  there  is  no  doing  anything  with 
him  :  when  he  puts  his  head  to  anything  he  will  have  his  own 
way  ;  and  in  fact  he  had  two  sons  with  Moffitt  at  the  time  you 
allude  to — the  killing  of  Lord  Hook.77 

One  of  the  young  women  gave  me  a  significant  look,  in 
which  I  thought  there  was  some  meaning,  and  walked  out  of 
the  house.  There  was  a  loomhouse  stood  close  in  the  yard  ; 
she  entered  it  and  commenced  weaving.  Such  was  my  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  family,  that  I  thought  they  would  conceal  me  by 
any  means,  if  any  possible  danger  should  approach,  and  I 
have  not  changed  my  opinion  yet,  and  have  often  thought  that 
women  were  better  calculated  for  an  enterprise  of  that  kind, 
and  imminent  emergencies,  than  men. .  I  walked  slowly,  and 
passed  through  the  yard,  near  the  door  of  the  loomhouse,  which 
stood  open.  The  young  woman  beckoned  me  to  come  in  ;  I  en¬ 
tered,  when  she  observed  to  me,  “  You  had  better  not  stay  here 
too  long  ;  there  are  three  of  those  upper  fellows  now  gone  below 
—  they  passed  here  this  morning,  and  have  gone  down  to  Clark’s 
Fork,  five  or  six  miles  below  ;  I  expect  they  are  gone  to  try  to 
get  some  others  about  that  part  of  the  country  to  join  them  in 
their  meeting  alluded  to  by  that  old  woman  in  the  house  :  they 
said  they  were  going  to  old  G - s,  and  there  is  quite  a  num¬ 

ber  who  will  be  sure  to  help  them.77  “  You  had  better.77  contin¬ 
ued  she,  “leave  the  road  here,  and  go  down  by  the  way  ot 
McArthur’s  :  it  is  very  little  out  of  the  way,  and  then  you  will 
fall  into  the  road  near  Henry’s,  where  you  will  be  safe.  If  you 
should  keep  the  road  you  are  now  on,  and  should  meet  any  of 
those  lower  fellows,  you  will  be  known  and  your  situation  will 
be  unpleasant ;  it  is  too  perilous  a  task  for  you  to  undertake. 
I  entreat  you  take  my  advice  this  time  ;  the  old  woman  will 

not  find  out  anything  about  you.77  In  a  few  minutes  T  was 

5 


34 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


mounted  on  my  horse  and  was  off  in  a  tangent.  I  took  the 
way  the  young  lady  advised  me,  and  passed  on  without  inter¬ 
ruption.  In  the  meantime,  Moffitt  had  moved  off  from  the  place 
where  1  left  him  stationed,  about  four  miles,  in  order  to  be  near 
a  blacksmith  shop,  but  care  was  taken  that  I  should  be  directed 
to  the  place.  Late  in  the  evening  I  arrived  at  the  place  of  my 
.  destination.  I  found  all  the  men  busy.  I  gave  as  correct  an 
account  as  I  could  of  all  I  had  seen  or  heard  during  my  absence, 
which  was  listened  to  with  earnestness  by  all  who  heard  me. 

It  will  be,  perhaps,  proper  here  to  mention,  that  we  were  a 
set  of  men  acting  entirely  on  our  own  footing,  without  tho 
promise  or  expectation  of  any  pay.  There  was  nothing  fur¬ 
nished  us  from  the  public  ;  we  furnished  our  own  clothes,  com¬ 
posed  of  coarse  materials,  and  all  home  spun  ;  our  over  dress 
was  a  hunting  shirt,  of  what  was  called  linsey  woolsey,  well 
belted  around  us.  We  furnished  our  own  horses,  saddles,  bri¬ 
dles,  guns,  swords,  butcher  knives,  and  our  own  spurs  ;  we  got 
our  powder  and  lead  as  we  could,  and  had  often  to  apply  to  the 
old  women  of  the  country,  for  their  old  pewter  dishes  and 
spoons,  to  supply  the  place  of  lead  ;  and  if  we  had  lead  sufficient 
to  make  balls,  half  lead  and  the  other  pewter,  we  felt  well  sup¬ 
plied.  Swords,  at  first,  were  scarce,  but  we  had  several  good 
blacksmiths  among  us  ;  besides,  there  were  several  in  the  coun¬ 
try.  If  we  got  hold  of  a  piece  of  good  steel,  we  would  keep  it ; 
and  likewise,  go  to  all  the  sawmills,  and  take  all  the  old  whip 
saws  we  could  find,  set  three  or  four  smiths  to  work,  in  one 
shop,  and  take  the  steel  we  had,  to  another.  In  thi3  wav  we 
soon  had  a  pretty  good  supply  of  swords  and  butcher  knives. 
Mostly  all  of  our  spurs,  bridle  bits,  and  horsemen’s  caps,  were 
manufactured  by  us.  We  would  go  to  a  turner  or  wheelwright, 
and  get  head  blocks  turned,  of  various  sizes,  according  to  the 
heads  that  had  to  wear  them,  in  shape  resembling  a  sugar  loaf  * 
we  would  then  get  some  strong  upper,  or  light  sole  leather,  cut 
it  out  in  shape,  close  it  on  the  block,  then  grease  it  well  with 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


tallow,  and  set  it  before  a  warm  fire,  still  on  the  block,  and 
keep  turning  it  round  before  the  fire,  still  rubbing  on  the  tab 
low,  until  it  became  almost  as  hard  as  a  sheet  of  iron  ;  we  then 
got  two  small  straps  or  plates  of  steel,  made  by  our  own  smiths, 
of  a  good  spring  temper,  and  crossing  in  the  centre  above,  one 
reaching  from  ear  to  ear,  the  other,  in  the  contrary  direction ; 
the  lining  was  made  of  strong  cloth,  padded  with  wool,  and  • 
fixed  so  as  to  prevent  the  cap  from  pressing  too  hard  on  the 
ears  ;  there  was  a  small  brim  attached  to  the  front,  resembling 
the  caps  now  worn,  a  piece  of  bear  skin  lined  with  strong  cloth, 
padded  with  wool,  passed  over  from  the  front  to  the  back  of  the 
head  ;  then  a  large  bunch  of  hair  taken  from  the  tail  of  a  horse, 
generally  white,  was  attached  to  the  back  part  and  hung  down 
the  back  ;  then,  a  bunch  of  white  feathers,  or  deer’s- tail,  was 
attached  to  the  sides,  which  completed  the  cap.  The  cap  was 
heavy,  but  custom  soon  made  it  so  that  it  could  be  worn  with¬ 
out  inconvenience.  We  made  the  scabbards  of  our  swords  of 
leather,  by  closing  on  a  pattern  of  wood,  and  treating  it  similar 
to  the  cap.  Our  swords  and  knives,  we  polished  mostly  with  a 
grindstone — not  a  very  fine  polish  to  be  sure  ;  but  they  were  of 
a  good  temper,  sharpened  to  a  keen  edge,  and  seldom  failed  to 
do  execution,  when  brought  into  requisition. 

At  these  occupations  they  were  busily  engaged,  when  I  re¬ 
turned  from  my  last  excursion.  My  communication  had  been 
received  in  private,  only  by  the  Colonel  and  a  few  ot  his  confi¬ 
dential  officers,  and  I  was  peremptorily  charged  not  to  divulge 
the  communication  to  any  one.  In  fact  when  I  was  sent  out  on 
any  similar  occasion,  the  business  was  known  only  to  the  colonel 
and  my  father,  and  by  the  way,  my  father  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  a  brigade  major.  The  troops  still  continued  their  prep¬ 
arations  for  battle  until  Wednesday  evening,  when  we  were  all 
paraded,  and  orders  given'  to  every  man  to  look  to  his  gun,  and 
see  that  it  was  in  good  order,  report  the  amount  of  his  stock  of 
powder  and  balls,  see  that  it  was  in  good  order,  and  be  reach  to 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


36 

inarch  at  a  minute’s  warning,  on  the  next  morning.  Most  of 
the  troops  had  by  this  time  been  pretty  well  furnished  with  swords; 
for  my  own  part  I  received  one,  the  first  I  had  ever  used.  Wc 
carried  no  camp  equipage,  no  cooking  utensils,  nor  any  thing  to 
encumber  us  ;  we  depended  on  what  chance  or  kind  providence 
might  cast  in  our  way,  and  were  always  ready  to  decamp  in  a 
short  time,  so  that  we  were  what  might  be  called  the  harum* 
scarum-ramstan  boys — the  ranting  squad.  Next  morning  pretty 
early,  we  were  mounted  and  under  marching  orders  :  few  could 
guess  the  object,  but  it  was  evident  that  there  was  something 
in  the  wind  ;  we  steered  on  in  nearly  a  northern  direction,  so 
that  if  our  movement  should  be  noticed,  it  might  seem  that  we 
were  rather  marching  for  Ilamsour’s,  the  other  contemplated 
place  of  rendezvous.  In  the  evening,  we  turned  more  to  the 
west  until  we  were  within  about  twelve  miles  of  the  intended 
place  ;  here  wc  halted  near  a  farm,  where  we  knew  we  had 
friends,  and  obtained  some  provisions,  and  forage  for  our  horses. 
After  placing  out  guards,  we  were  directed  to  keep  our  horses 
with  the  saddles,  lie  down  on  our  arms,  and  be  ready  when  call¬ 
ed.  We  all  laid  down,  the  weather  was  warm  and  we  needed 
no  fires  ;  some  perhaps  did  not  sleep,  but  for  my  part,  I  fell 
asleep  immediately  :  however,  not  many  hours  had  passed  until 
we  were  called  up,  without  much  noise,  and  the  nature  of  the 
movement  explained  to  all.  We  then  mounted  our  horses,  when 
profound  silence  was  enjoined  on  all.  We  had  good  guides, 
who  took  the  lead,  and  all  followed  ;  not  long  before  day,  we 
crossed  the  creek  at  a  short  distance  above  the  place  of  our 
destination  ;  we  halted  and  sent  out  spies  on  foot,  to  ascertain 
the  position  of  the  enemy,  who  soon  returned  bringing  intelli¬ 
gence  that  the  enemy  were  posted  in  a  large  log  building,  hav¬ 
ing  three  guards  placed  out — one. in  the  yard  and  the  other  two 
at  no  great  distance  from  each  end  of  a  long  lane,  through 
which  the  main  road  passed  by  the  house. 

As  soon  as  day  broke,  we  again  moved  on  slowlv,  and  in 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  37 

silence,  keeping  the  strip  of  woods  between  us  and  the  building*, 
in  order  to  gain  the  main  road,  if  possible,  undiscovered.  We 
succeeded— got  close  to  the  road,  halted,  and  again  sent  out 
two  or  three  men  to  make  what  discovery  they  could.  They 
soon  returned,  reporting  that  the  house  doors  were  open,  that 
the  enemy  were  passing  in  and  out,  and  appeared  to  apprehend 
no  alarm,  We  then  formed  into  regular  order,  the  sun  now 
being  up,  moved  on,  and  were  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
guard  before  we  were  discovered.  The  enemy  began  to  rally, 
but  they  had  no  time — we  were  too  close  upon  them  ;  they  fired 
a  few  guns,  but  without  effect,  and  fled,  some  leaving  their  guns  ; 
we  w*ere  in  the  yard  by  the  time  they  issued  from  the  house. 
As  we  entered  the  yard,  their  leader  came  out,  storming  at  his 
men.  He  was  shot  down,  and  two  others  fell  by  his  side,  with 
several  of  the  guard  ;  the  other  guard  advanced,  but  the  rifle 
balls  stopped  their  progress,  and  they  soon  retreated.  I11  an 
instant,  after  entering  the  yard,  some  of  our  men  rushed  into  the 
house  ;  the  windows  flew  open,  and  the  enemy  tumbled  out,  one 
over  the  other.  Numbers  of  them  fell  in  their  hurry,  and  ran 
some  distance  on  all  fours  before  they  could  recover  their  legs. 
Others  went  helter  skelter,  most  of  them  bareheaded,  for  a  large 
swamp  on  the  creek,  not  far  distant,  though  several  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  halt  by  the  way  from  the  effect  of  our  rifle  balls.  We  - 
took  possession  of  most  of  their  guns,  which  were  stacked  in  the 
yard,  and  also  took  several  of  them  prisoners  ;  likewise,  most 
of  their  ammunition,  swords,  and  pistols.  When  all  was  over, 
we  found  that  we  had  killed  three  of  their  best  officers,  and  five 
others  ;  sixteen  were  badly  wounded. 

On  a  large  table  set  some  decanters  or  rather  'cased  bot¬ 
tles,  with  some  peach  brandy  in  them  ;  our  colonel  ordered  the 
man  of  the  house  who  had  surrendered  on  our  first  entering,  to 
produce  some  more  of  his  brandy,  which  was  done.  The  men 
were  all  paraded  and  the  roll  called  5  it  was  found  that  all 


i-  • 


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vu*:  tt  imaiL;  hhl  hi  ihie^-  v  i 

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'Z7-;/;  V/  v vi  /  tU?j/ 


CHAPTER  IV, 

SKIRMISH  WITH  THE  ENEMY. 


IRECTING  our  course  down  Broad  River) 
we  then  marched,  after  thus  defeating  the 
designs  and  stratagems  of  old  Jezebel,  which 
she  had  concerted — to  put  Naboth  to  death 
and  obtain  the  vineyard.  Her  schemes  were 
all  baffled,  and  so  it  would  appear  from  the 
whole  history  of  this  manoeuvre  ;  we,  resting 
our  hopes  under  the  strong  and  protecting  arm  of 
freedom,  which  has  paved  the  way  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  this  great  Republic.  She  had  this 
time  carried  no  papers  to  betray  her.  We  moved  on 
some  miles,  and  encamped  for  the  night,  using  at  the 
same  time  every  precaution,  knowing  that  we  were 
among  enemies.  Next  morning,  w^e  learned  that  there  was  a 
party  gathering  below  us,  at  one  Harrison’s,  a  noted  Tory. 
We  immediately  marched  for  the  place,  but  when  we  arrived 
there,  all  was  silent,  and  not  a  man  to  be  seen.  One  of  those 
Ponders,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  being  an  active  man,  had 
turned  out  in  order  to  raise  some  recruits,  for  the  purpose  of 
strengthening  the  parties  contemplated  by  the  old  Jezabel. 
They  had  collected,  but  by  some  means  had  got  wind  of  us. 
When  we  arrived,  there  were  several  women  about  the  house  } 
inquiry  was  made  if  there  had  been  some  men  there  that  morn¬ 
ing?  The  replv  was  in  the  affirmative  but  they  had  gone 

39 


40 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


two  hours  or  more.  “  Which  way  did  they  go?  ”  “  Oh  !  they 
went  off  down  that  way  some  place,  but  we  don’t  know  where.” 
AVe  moved  off  our  road,  passed  round  part  of  the  farm,  and  a 
rough  thicket  on  the  other  side.  Before  we  had  proceeced  far 
one  of  our  men  observed  :  “1  don't  like  the  looks  of  those 

women  ;  those  fellows  are  not  far  off,  perhaps  looking  at  us  now.” 
AVe  had  not  proceeded  more  than  half  way  round  the  fence,  when 
all  at  once  we  were  saluted  with  the  report  of  twenty  or  per¬ 
haps  thirty  guns  out  of  the  thicket,  and  the  whizzing  of  the 
balls  about  our  heads.  Down  came  two  of  our  men  just  ahead 
of  where  I  was ;  one  soon  recovered  his  feet,  but  the  other  in 
attempting  to  rise  would  stagger  and  fall.  The  thicket  was  not 
very  extensive  and  a  part  of  the  men  in  front  dashed  on  to  go 
round  it :  some  in  the  rear  wheeled  the  other  way,  while  a  num- 
ber  of  the  centre  dismounted  near  the  wounded  to  defend  them. 
In  a  few  moments  four  men  advanced  from  the  thicket,  within  a 
short  distance,  Bonder,  being  at  their  head.  I  saw  my  father 
level  his  gun  at  Bonder  ;  both  fired  nearly  at  the  same  instant ; 
Bonder’s  gun  fell  from  his  hands ;  Bonder  wheeled  and  moved 
off  in  haste,  leaving  his  gun,  the  others  following  his  example. 
A  few  guns  fired  on  the  other  side  of  the  thicket ;  the  enemy 
had  retreated  down  a  steep  hill  into  a  creek  swamp,  pursued  by 

our  men,  who  soon  returned.  It  was  discovered  that  one  of  the 
• 

men  who  fell  at  the  first  fire,  by  the  name  of  AVatson,  a  lieu¬ 
tenant,  was  uninjured  ;  his  horse  was  shot  dead  under  him. 
The  other,  named  Burns,  was  shot  in  the  hip,  the  ball  passing 
through  the  hind  tree  of  his  saddle,  entered  his  hip  and  lodged 
against  the  bone,  just  below  the  hip-joint.  AVe  picked  up  Bon¬ 
der’s  gun,  an  excellent  rifle,  then  supporting  our  wounded  man 
on  a  horse,  we  bore  him  to  a  house  at  no  great  distance,  where 
we  constructed  a  litter  and  conveyed  him  to  a  place  of  safety. 
The  ball  was  extracted,  and  it  was  but  a  few  weeks  until  he 
was  again  in  the  field.  In  a  few  days  we  ascertained  that 
Bonder  had  been  shot  through  the  wrist,  so  as  to  prevent  him 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


41 


from  using  a  gun  any  more.  Harrison  was  slightly  wounded 
through  the  fleshy  part  of  the  arm.  In  a  few  days  it  was  ascer¬ 
tained  that  the  meeting  had  taken  place  at  Ramsour’s.  We  mus¬ 
tered  and  started  for  the  place,  but  we  were  too  late  ;  we  arriv¬ 
ed  at  the  place  in  the  evening,  where  we  found  our  friends  in¬ 
stead  of  enemies.  A  Capt.  Falls,  with  some  other  officers,  and 
a  party  of  men  from  North  Carolina,  had  attacked  them  in  the 
early  part  of  the  day,  and  entirely  defeated  them ;  there  were 
several  killed  on  both  sides  and  among  the  rest  Capt.  Falls  him¬ 
self  lay  dead.  After  assisting  some  of  the  wounded  and  help¬ 
ing  to  bury  the  dead  belonging  to  our  own  side,  we  retreated 
to  our  own  place.  The  Tory  party  on  the  west  side  of  Broad 
River,  were  numerous  ;  they  began  to  muster  up  and  threaten 
us ;  they  commenced  house  burning  and  plundering.  Among 
their  leaders  was  one  called  Bill  Cunningham,  a  man  that  will 
be  execrated  by  some  of  the  descendants  of  the  sufferers,  per¬ 
haps  to  generations  yet  unborn.  Women  were  insulted,  and 
stripped  of  every  particle  of  decent  clothing  they  might  have  on, 
and  every  article  of  bedding,  clothing  or  furniture  was  taken — 
knives,  forks,  dishes,  spoons,  in  fact  everything  that  could  be 
carried  off.  Not  a  piece  of  meat  or  a  pint  of  salt  was  left. 
They  even  entered  houses  where  men  lay  sick  of  the  small-pox, 
that  they  knew  were  opposed  to  them,  dragged  them  out  of 
their  sick  beds  into  the  yard  and  put  them  to  death,  in  cold 
blood,  in  presence  of  their  wives  and  children,  or  relatives. 
We  were  too  weak  to  repel  them,  and  it  seemed  as  though  they 
had  been  let  loose  from  the  bottomless  pit,  to  execute  infernal 
vengeance  on  all  that  disobeyed  the  mandates  of  the  British. 
It  seemed  like  our  time,  to  suffer  in  the  flesh,  was  at  hand.  In 
order  to  save  ourselves  a  little  longer,  it  was  determined  to  join 
Sumpter,  below,  but  we  jumped  out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the 
fire ;  we  met  Sumpter  retreating  rapidly  ;  we  joined  in  the 
retreat  until  we  came  to  Fishing  Creek,  a  place  where  it  was 

thought  we  could  halt  in  safe  tv,  and  rest,  but  not  so.  Sumpter 
6 


42 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


encamped  on  the  main  road,  near  the  creek  ;  we  were  encamped 
a  short  distance  above,  on  his  left,  where  another  road  crossed 
the  creek  ;  there  was  a  guard  or  picket  posted  at  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  in  the  rear  ;  the  men  were  all  fatigued  ;  some  had  kindled 
fires  and  were  cooking  and  eating  ;  others  tumbled  down  and 
were  fast  asleep,  and  all  scattered  in  every  direction.  We  had 
drawn  some  provisions,  and  forage  for  our  horses,  and  were 
engaged  in  about  the  same  way,  with,  however,  but  few  asleep. 
Our  horses  were  mostly  close  at  hand,  and  but  few  saddles  off  ; 
all  at  once  the  picket  guns  gave  the  alarm — they  retreated  on 
the  main  body  with  the  enemy  at  their  heels.  Before  Sumpter 
could  wake  up  his  men  and  form,  the  enemy  were  among  them 
cutting  down  everything  in  their  way.  Sumpter,  with  all  the 
men  he  had  collected,  retreated  across  the  creek  at  the  main 
road,  leaving  the  remainder  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.  It  was 
a  perfect  rout,  and  an  indiscriminate  slaughter.  No  quar¬ 
ter  was  given ;  we  were  preparing  in  all  haste  to  secure 
our  own  safety.  The  greater  part  of  our  number  dashed  through 
the  creek,  at  the  fording  place,  and  pushing  on  with  all  possible 
speed,  reached  the  highland.  After  we  had  gotten  fairly  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  we  halted.  No  enemy  appeared,  and  we  re¬ 
mained  quiet  for  some  time,  waiting  for  some  of  our  men,  who 
were  missing  ;  but  no  tidings — no  one,  neither  friend  or  foe  ap¬ 
pearing.  There  had  been  but  little  firing,  except  the  pistols  of 
the  enemy,  and  all  seemed  to  be  silent.  At  length  a  few  blasts 
of  the  bugle  brought  some  of  our  men  in  sight,  who  in  their 
hurry  had  missed  the  fording  place,  and  had  gone  up  the  creek 
where  they  found  it  difficult  to  pass,  and  were  looking  for  our 
trail.  Near  sunset,  a  few  more  came  up,  but  there  were  still 
some  missing,  of  whom  we  could  hear  nothing.  We  then  left 
the  road,  keeping  a  high,  open  ridge  and  went  off  some  distance  ; 
night  coming  on,  we  dismounted  in  the  woods  and  tied  our 
horses  ;  we  had  nothing  for  man  or  beast  to  eat,  and  the  weath¬ 
er  being  warm,  (August,)  we  kindled  no  fires.  We  lay  down, 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  43 

every  man  with  his  sword  by  his  side,  his  gun  in  his  hands, 
and  his  pistol  near  his  head.  All  were  silent,  for  we  expected 
the  whole  army  had  been  taken  prisoners,  or  put  to  the  sword. 

After  I  had  laid  down,  I  began  to  refleet.  Well,  thought 
I,  if  this  be  the  fate  of  war,  I  would  willingly  be  excused.  I 
devised  several  plans  to  get  out  of  the  scrape,  but  none  appear¬ 
ed  likely  to  have  the  desired  effect.  The  thing  had  gone  too 
far,  and  there  was  no  safety  in  retreating.  At  length,  weary 
with  thinking,  I  fell  asleep.  Before  it  was  light,  in  the  morn¬ 
ing,  we  were  all  up,  and  on  enquiry,  it  was  found  that  five  of 
our  number  were  missing.  It  was  resolved  that  we  should  re¬ 
turn  to  the  battle  ground  ;  a  few  spies  having  been  sent  forward, 
we  followed  at  some  distance.  When  we  arrived,  there  was  110 
appearance  of  the  enemy — all  was  silent.  In  a  few  moments,  a 
party  of  Sumpter's  men  made  their  appearance,  crossing  the 
ereek.  The  dead  and  wounded  lay  scattered  in  every  direction 
over  the  field  ;  numbers  lay  stretched  cold  and  lifeless ;  some 
were  yet  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death,  while  here  and 
there,  lay  others,  faint  with  the  loss  of  blood,  almost  famished 
for  water,  and  begging  for  assistance.  The  scene  before  me,  I 
could  not  reconcile  to  my  feelings,  and  I  again  began  to  repent 
that  I  had  ever  taken  any  part  in  the  matter ;  however,  by  cus¬ 
tom,  such  things  become  familiar.  We  commenced  our  search^ 
and  soon  found  two  of  our  own  party,  one  named  Enloe,  and 
the  other  Jackson,  some  distance  apart,  both  setting  up,  unable 
to  walk  without  assistance,  and  mangled  by  the  sword.  The 
other  three  we  could  not  find  among  the  living  or  the  dead  ; 
what  their  fate  was,  we  never  knew,  for  we  never  heard  of  them 
afterwards.  One  was  a  lieutenant  named  Bryan,  one  of  our 
most  active  men.  We  collected  all  the  wounded  we  could  ;  but 
poor  fellows,  we  had  little  nourishment  to  give  them ;  they  all 
craved  water,  and  even  the  little  they  received,  seemed  to  re¬ 
vive  them.  We  then  began  to  look  out  some  provisions,  for 
ourselves  and  horses  ;  we  found  corn  lying  about  in  many  pla- 


44 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


ces,  that  had  not  been  consumed  the  day  before,  and  there  were 
several  kettles,  setting  about,  where  the  fire  had  been  kindled, 
with  provisions  ready  cooked — and  provisions  scattered  about 
on  the  ground  in  various  places.  There  was  no  time  for  choos¬ 
ing,  and  every  man  ate  whatever  he  got  hold  of,  asking  no 
questions ;  then,  taking  a  glass  of  cold  water,  we  all  felt  some 
what  braced  up.  There  were  several  horses  grazing  about  the 
old  field,  that  appeared  to  be  nearly  worn  out,  some  with  bridles 
and  saddles  on,  others  without. 

The  guns  lay  scattered  over  the  field,  also  various  articles 
of  camp  equipage.  Among  the  guns  there  was  one  picked  up, 
a  good  looking  rifle,  with  a  shot-bag  and  all  the  apparatus  be¬ 
longing.  The  gun  had  apparently  been  laid  down  by  some  one 
who  intended  taking  a  little  sleep.,  in  order  to  have  her  ready 
when  he  awoke.  The  gun  was  presented  to  the  Colonel,  and 
after  viewing  her  some  time,  he  observed  “  Well,  boys  I  have  a 
use  for  this  gun — I  shall  have  to  claim  her  as  my  part  of  the 
spoils.”  Then  calling  me  up,  said,  ‘‘Well,  James,  you  have 
been  wanting  a  rifle  for  some  time  ;  here  is  one  I  think  will 
suit  you ;  she  is  light,  and  I  think,  a  good  one  ;  she  has  an  ex¬ 
cellent  lock  ;  lay  down  your  little  shot-gun  ;  take  her,  and  take 
good  care  of  her  ;  I  think  you  can  do  better  with  her  than  with 
the  little  shot-gun.”  A  Capt.  Chambers,  who  stood  by,  exclaim¬ 
ed,  “That  is  right  colonel,  you  have  made  a  good  disposition  of 
the  gun.  I  hope  we  shall  have  need  of  James,  yet ;  he  seems 
to  be  a  lucky  boy,  and  it  is  well  to  encourage  him.”  I  confess 
it  had  the  effect  of  a  stimulent,  and  in  some  measure  reconciled 
me  to  my  lot.  After  giving  what  help  we  could  in  burying  the 
dead,  in  haste,— poor  fellows  it  was  badly  done, — we  caught  two 
of  the  best  looking  horses  we  could  find,  and  placing  our  two 
wounded  men  upon  them,  and  supporting  them  as  well  as  we 
could,  we  moved  off,  taking  with  us  no  plunder,  (or  very  little) 
of  what  was  considered  of  right  to  belong  to  Sumpter’s  men, 
being  the  property  of  their  companions  who  had  fallen.  All 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


45 


the  baggage,  and  everything  valuable,  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  and  they  had  taken  it  off.  We  got  to  a  house,  a 
few  miles  distant,  where  we  obtained  some  nourishment  for  the 
wounded,  and  finding  an  old  horse-cart,  we  placed  them  in  it, 
and  next  day,  got  them  to  their  home,  where  they  both  recover¬ 
ed,  but  not  without  being  much  disfigured  by  their  wounds. 


/ 


V  -  * 


CHAPTER  Y. 


SCOUTING. 


N  xl  BAD  BOX,  we  now  were,  for  tlie  enemy 
was  increasing  in  power.  There  was  a  small 
section  of  country  that  was  united,  lying  partly 
in  North,  and  partly  in  South  Carolina.  To 
this  we  were  confined  ;  we  kept  a  flying  camp> 
never  staying  long  in  one  place — never  camp¬ 
ing  near  a  public  road.  We  were  often  invi¬ 
ted  by  our  friends,  who  were  able  to  afford  it,  to 
partake  of  a  dinner  prepared  for  us ;  in  these  cases 
there  was  a  long  table,  prepared  of  planks,  set  in 
an  open  place,  at  some  distance  from  the  house.  Never 
stripping  off  saddles,  and  only  unbitting  our  bridles,  our 
horses  were  put  to  feed,  placing  a  guard  over  them,  and 
then  placing  out  sentinels  ;  each  one  sat  down  with  his  sword  by 
his  side ;  his  gun  lying  across  his  lap,  or  under  the  seat  on 
which  he  sat,  and  so  eating  in  his  turn,  until  all  were  done,  and 
then  often  as  playful  as  though  there  was  no  danger  ;  we  then 
mounted  our  horses  and  moved  off.  We  were  sometimes  di¬ 
vided  into  two  companies,  still  keeping  up  a  communication,  so 
as  to  know  the  movements  of  each  other.  While  lying  at 
camp,  one  day,  on  the  background  of  a  large  farm  of  one  of 
our  friends,  the  report  came  in  that  a  large  party  of  Tories  were 
advancing  to  invade  our  territory,  and  give  us  a  scourging,  and 
get  some  plunder.  After  some  consultation  among  the  officers, 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  47 

the  colonel  called  me  up,  saying  :  “  James,  I  have  some  busi¬ 
ness  for  you  to  do,  and  recollect,  much  depends  on  your  perform¬ 
ance.”  Then  giving  the  outlines  of  the  duty  required,  said) 
“  You  are  acquainted  with  all  the  passways — you  are  light 
and  a  good  rider ;  I  will  send  James  Kidd  with  you.”  He 
was  a  little  more  talkative  'than  myself,  but  by  no  means  infe¬ 
rior  as  a  rider.  “You  must  by  all  means  avoid  being  taken 
prisoner,  for  much  depends  on  your  safe  return.” 

There  was  a  place  about  live  or  six  miles  distant  where 
two  public  ways  met ;  a  large  farm  extended  all  around  the 
buildings  ;  there  were  three  lanes  by  this  place  through  which 
the  enemy  must  necessarily  pass,  to  arrive  at  the  place  where 
we  encamped.  We  were  directed  to  go  and  gain  information  ; 
the  owner  of  the  farm  was  with  us  in  camp,  and  was  afraid  to 
appear  at  home.  In  the  evening,  about  sunset,  we  approached 
the  end  of  one  of  the  lanes,  and  taking  a  view,  could  see  no 
kind  of  danger  :  we  then  rode  up  to  the  house,  concluding  if 
danger  appeared  in  one  lane,  we  could  run  out  at  the  other. 
The  woman  of  the  house  informed  us,  that  she  had  had  intelli¬ 
gence  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  that  the  enemy  were  not  far 
distant,  and  were  momentarily  expected ;  that  they  could  not 
be,  according  to  the  best  information,  more  than  two  miles  dis¬ 
tant.  By  this  time,  it  was  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening.  Seeing 
no  danger,  we  rode  off  through  one  of  the  lanes,  and  after 
passing  out  a  little  distance  on  the  way  that  we  intended  taking, 
turned  off ;  just  as  we  arrived  at  the  spot,  we  heard  some  noise 
ahead — we  halted  and  discovered  a  crowd  advancing — we 
wheeled  off  in  silence,  but  were  discovered — they  hailed  us  but 
we  made  no  reply,  hoping  they  would  not  pursue.  In  a  moment 
a  voice  roared  out,  “  Stop,  you  d — d  rascals,  or  we  will  shoot 
you.”  There  was  was  a  small  creek  ahead — we  passed  that  at 
a  pretty  brisk  rate,  when  we  heard  the  pursuit  commence, 
and  a  voice  exclaim,  “  Damn  the  buggers,  we  will  have  them !  ” 
“ In  a  minute,  now,”  thought  I ;  “do  thy  speedy  utmost,  ‘ Meg/ 


48 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


or  I  may  be  troubled  with  a  halter.”  I  reckon  that  Tam 
O’Shanter  did  not  urge  his  flight  with  more  energy  from  the 
witches  of  Kirk  Alloway,  than  we  did.  We  were  well  mount¬ 
ed  and  unincumbered,  which  perhaps  gave  us  some  advantage. 
Having  confidence  in  my  nag  and  my  own  horsemanship,  and 
knowing  my  companion  to  be  nothing  inferior,  we  pressed  on 
at  full  speed.  After  running  about  a  mile,  or  perhaps  a  little 
more,  we  completely  distanced  our  pursuers.  There  was  a 
small  path  turned  off  to  the  right,  which  we  intended  taking  ; 
we  suddenly  tacked,  and  after  leaving  the  road  a  short  distance, 
we  halted  and  stood  still.  The  noise  of  their  own  horses  had 
prevented  them  from  hearing  our  tack — they  came  on  under  a 
crowd  of  sail,  and  went  along  the  road — we  could  see  their 
shadows  as  they  passed,  but  it  was  too  dark  to  count  them. 
After  they  had  passed  us  we  moved  off  a  short  distance  far¬ 
ther  and  remained  silent ;  after  some  time,  they  returned  along 
the  road,  talking  pretty  loud,  and  making  some  remarks  about 
the  chase.  As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  hearing,  we  moved  off 
in  silence,  and  in  a  short  time  arrived  at  camp  to  make  our 
report. 

How  many  were  in  pursuit  of  us,  I  know  not — it  would 
seem  to  me,  from  the  noise  there  must  have  been  ten  or  a  doz¬ 
en.  It  was  determined  that  next  morning  we  should  fall  on 
their  rear,  and  give  them  a  brush,  but  we  were  too  late — they 
had  taken  a  different  direction  from  the  one  calculated,  and  be¬ 
fore  we  could  strike  their  trail  they  were  too  far  gone  for  us 
to  pursue  them  in  safety. 


CHAPTER  VL 

BATTLE  OF  KING'S  MOUNTAIN. 


T  THIS  TIME,  there  was  Clarke,  from 
Georgia,  with  his  adherents,  driven  to 
take  refuge  in  the  confines  of  North 
Carolina.  There  was  a  communication 
between  him  and  Moffitt.  There  were 
two  parties  of  Tories  posted  on  the  west 
side  of  Broad  River ;  one  at  a  place 


called  Black  Stock,  the  other,  lower  down  at  a  place  called 
Musgrove’s  Mills.  It  was  agreed  that  we  should  attack  both 
places  at  the  same  time,  if  possible.  It  fell  to  our  lot  to  attack 
at  Black  Stock,  while  Clarke  was  to  attack  Musgrove’s  ;  both 
parties  succeeded  in  driving  away  the  enemy.  We  had  five 
men  wounded — three  badly  though  not  mortally,  the  other  two 
slightly  ;  while  Clarke  had  several  wounded  and  one  or  two 
killed.  What  number  the  enemy  lost  1  cannot  say  at  this  time, 
but  they  had  several  killed  and  wounded  at  both  places.  We 
all  took  care  to  secure  what  powder  and  balls  we  could  in  such 
cases,  never  encumbering  ourselves  with  heavy  plunder.  As 
soon  as  the  business  was  over,  we  fixed  up  our  wounded  as  well 
as  we  could,  and  moved  off.  We  had  not  proceeded  far,  till  we 
fell  in  with  a  number  of  families,  perhaps  fifty,  or  more,  push¬ 
ing  on  with  all  possible  speed  to  take  refuge  in  North  Carolina, 
Some  had  wagons,  some  had  packs,  all  the  company  being,  old 
men,  women,  and  boys.  We  placed  our  wounded  in  some  of  the 


7 


40 


50 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


wagons,  and  guarded  the  whole  until  we  got  across  Broa^ 
River  ;  we  then  took  the  wounded  and  conveyed  them  to  a  place 
of  safety,  where  they  recovered.  Among  the  -wounded,  was  one 
of  our  best  blacksmiths,  by  the  name  of  Shaw.  In  a  few  weeks 
our  danger  began  to  increase  ;  Ferguson  was  coming  on  with 
his  boasted  marksmen,  and  seemed  to  threaten  the  destruction 
of  the  whole  country.  The  Tories  were  flocking  to  his  standard 
from  every  quarter,  and  there  appeared  little  safety  for  us  ;  but 
as  God  would  have  it,  a  patriotic  party  sprung  up  about  Hills¬ 
boro,  North  Carolina,  under  Colonels  Campbell,  Williams, 
Shelby,  and  Cleveland  ;  Sevier,  from  the  mountains,  joined  in, 
together  with  Hamright,  and  some  other  leaders.  As  they  ad¬ 
vanced  their  numbers  kept  augmenting  :  our  chance  of  safety 
was  to  join,  if  possible,  the  advancing  patriots,  to  accomplish 
which,  we  passed  on  through  North  Carolina  ;  but  before  wre 
reached  them,  the  army  had  passed.  We  fell  in  their  rear,  took 
their  trail,  and  pushed  on  till  wre  overtook  them  without  being 
intercepted.  It  had  been  expected,  that  Ferguson  would  cross 
Broad  River,  high  up,  and  they  would  meet  him  on  his  march. 
But  he  had  turned  his  course ;  took  a  road  to  the  right,  and 
steered  more  to  the  east,  towards  Charlotte  in  North  Carolina, 
thus  steering  right  through  our  section  of  country.  Our  army 
fell  in  his  rear,  at  no  great  distance  behind  and  took  his  trail 
and  commenced  pursuit.  The  spies  brought  in  news  that  he  had 
crossed  Broad  River  at  a  place  called  the  Cherokee  Ford,  and 
had  made  a  stand.  He  had  taken  a  position  at  a  small  distance 
down  the  river,  below  the  crossing  place  ;  having  the  river  on 
one  side,  a  high  rocky  ridge  on  the  other,  and  a  large  old  field 
fronting  where  we  must  of  necessity  cross  the  river.  The  pur¬ 
suing  army  had  not  a  single  baggage  waggon  or  any  kind  of 
camp  equipage  ;  every  one  ate  what  he  could  get,  and  slept  in 
his  own  blanket,  sometimes  eating  raw  turnips,  and  often  re¬ 
sorting  to  a  little  parched  corn,  which  by  the  by,  I  have  often 
thought,  if  a  man  would  eat  a  mess  of  parched  corn  and  swal- 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


51 


low  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  honey,  then  take  a  good  draught 
of  cold  water,  he  could  pass  longer  without  suffering  than  with 
any  other  diet  he  could  use.  On  Friday  evening,  we  came  to 
the  river,  with  the  the  full  expectation  of  meeting  them,  and 
being  attacked  in  crossing  :  we  passed  over  but  no  enemy  ap¬ 
peared.  The  enemy  had  moved  on,  I  think,  about  nine  miles, 
and  made  a  stand  on  a  place  called  King’s  Mountain,  and  de¬ 
termined  to  give  battle.  We  had  encamped  for  the  night,  on 
the  ground  the  enemy  had  left ;  on  Saturday  morning,  October 
7th,  1780,  we  were  paraded,  and  harangued  in  a  short  manner, 
on  the  prospect  before  us.  The  sky  was  overcast  with  clouds, 
and  at  times  a  light  mist  of  rain  falling*  our  provisions  were 
scanty,  and  hungry  men  are  apt  to  be  fractious  ;  each  one  felt 
Iris  situation  ;  the  last  stake  was  up  and  the  severity  of  the 
game  must  be  played  ;  everything  was  at  stake — life,  liberty, 
property,  and  even  the  late  of  wife,  children  and  friends,  seemed 
to  depend  on  the  issue  j  death  or  victory  was  the  only  way  to 
escape  suffering.  Near  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  we  came 
in  sight  of  the  enemy,  who  seemed  to  be  fully  prepared  to 
give  battle  at  all  risks.  When  we  came  up,  we  halted,  and 
formed  in  order  of  battle,  Shelby  happened  to  be  in  command 
that  day  as  every  colonel  took  command  day  about.  The  men 
were  disposed  of  in  three  divisions — the  right  was  commanded 
by  Cleveland  and  Sevier,  the  left  by  Campbell  and  Williams, 
and  the  centre  by  Shelby  and  Hamright.  The  enemy  was 
posted  on  a  high,  steep  and  rugged  ridge,  or  spur  of  the  moun¬ 
tain,  very  difficult  of  access,  with  a  small  stream  of  water  run¬ 
ning  on  each  side  :  along  each  stream  was  a  narrow  strip  of 
flat  ground.  The  plan  was,  to  surround  the  mountain  and  at¬ 
tack  them  on  all  sides,  if  possible.  In  order  to  do  this,  the  left 
had  to  march  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy  to  gain  the  position 
assigned  to  them,  on  the  stream  on  the  right  of  the  enemy, 
while  the  right  was  to  take  possession  of  the  other  stream  ;  in 
doing  this  they  were  not  exposed,  the  cliff  being  so  steep  as  to 


52 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


cover  them  completely.  Each  leader  made  a  short  speech  in 
his  own  way  to  his  men,  desiring  every  coward  to  be  off  imme¬ 
diately  ;  here  I  confess  I  would  willingly  have  been  excused, 
for  my  feelings  were  not  the  most  pleasant — this  may  be  attrib¬ 
uted  to  my  youth,  not  being  quite  seventeen  years  of  age — but 
I  could  not  well  swallow  the  appellation  of  coward.  I  looked 
around  ;  every  man’s  countenance  seemed  to  change  ;  well, 
thought  I,  fate  is  fate,  everv  man's  fate  is  before  him  and  he 

O’  7  •/ 

has  to  run  it  out,  which  I  am  inclined  to  think  vet.  I  was 
commanded  this  day  by  Major  Chronicle  and  Capt.  Watson. 
We  were  soon  in  motion,  every  man  throwing  four  or  five  balls 
in  his  mouth  to  prevent  thirst,  also  to  be  in  readiness  to  reload 
quick.  The  shot  of  the  enemy  soon  began  to  pass  over  us  like 
hail ;  the  first  shock  was  quickly  over,  and  for  my  own  part, 
I  was  soon  in  a  profuse  sweat.  My  lot  happened  to  be  in  the 
centre,  where  the  severest  part  of  the  battle  was  fought.  We 
soon  attempted  to  climb  the  hill,  but  were  fiercely  charged  upon 
and  forced  to  fall  back  to  our  first  position  ;  we  tried  a  second 
time,  but  met  the  same  fate  ;  the  fight  Then  seemed  to  become 
more  furious.  Their  leader,  F.erguson,  came  in  full  view,  within 
rifle  shot  as  if  to  encourage  his  men,  who  by  this  time  were  fall¬ 
ing  very  fast ;  he  soon  disappeared.  We  took  to  the  hill  a 
third  time ;  the  enemy  gave  way  ;  when  we  had  gotten  near  the 
top,  some  of  our  leaders  roared  out,  “  Hurra,  my  brave  fellows! 
Advance !  They  are  crying  for  quarter  ” 

By  this  time,  the  right  and  left  had  gained  the  top  of  the 
cliff;  the  enemy  was  completely  hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  and  no 
chance  of  escaping— besides,  their  leader  had  fallen.  They  soon 
thi ew  down  their  arms  and  surrendered.  After  the  fight  was 
over,  the  situation  of  the  poor  Tories  appeared  to  be  really 
pitiable  ;  the  dead  lay  in  heaps  on  all  sides,  while  the  groans  of 
the  wounded  were  heard  in  every  direction.  I  could  not  help 
turning  away  from  the  scene  before  me,  with  horror,  and  though 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


53 


exulting  in  victory,  could  not  refrain  from  shedding  tears. — 
“  Great  God  !”  said  I,  “  Is  this  the  fate  of  mortals,  or  was  it  for 
this  cause  that  man  was  brought  into  the  world  ?” 

On  examining  the  dead  body  of  their  great  chief,  it  appear¬ 
ed  that  almost  fifty  rifles  must  have  been  leveled  at  him,  at  the 
same  time  ;  seven  rifle  balls  had  passed  through  his  body,  both 
of  his  arms  were  broken,  and  his  hat  and  clothing  were  literally 
shot  to  pieces.  Their  great  elevation  above  us  had  proved  their 
ruin  ;  they  overshot  us  altogether,  scarce  touching  a  man,  ex¬ 
cept  those  on  horseback,  while  every  rifle  from  below,  seemed 
to  have  the  desired  effect.  In  this  conflict  I  had  fired  my  rifle 
six  times,  while  others  had  perhaps  fired  nine  or  ten.  I  had  by 
this  time  learned  to  shoot  a  rifle  pretty  well,  was  not  a  bad 
hand  in  the  second  class,  and  had  come  to  this  conclusion  :  never 
to  retreat  alone,  ihoot  without  an  object,  or  lay  down  my  gun 
until  the  last  extremity  ;  for,  thought  I,  a  gun,  though  empty, 
might  keep  an  enemy  at  bay.  Whether  I  effected  any  thing  or 
not,  is  unknown  to  me.  My  first  shot  I  ever  doubted,  for  I 
really  had  a  shake  on  me  at  the  time ;  but  that  soon  passed 
over,  and  I  took  the  precaution  to  conceal  myself  as  well  as 
I  could,  behind  a  tree  or  rock,  of  which  there  were  plenty,  and 
take  as  good  aim  as  possible. 

Next  morning,  which  was  Sunday,  the  scene  became  really 
|j  distressing  ;  the  wives  and  children  of  the  poor  Tories  came  in, 
in  great  numbers.  Their  husbands,  fathers,  and  brothers,  lay 
dead  in  heaps,  while  others  lay  wounded  or  dying ;  a  melan¬ 
choly  sight  indeed !  while  numbers  of  the  survivors  were  doom¬ 
ed  to  abide  the  sentence  of  a  court  martial,  and  several  were 
i  actually  hanged.  As  regards  the  numbers  that  fell,  authors 
have  disagreed  ;  yet  none  have  overrated  the  number.  I  know 
our  estimate,  at  the  time,  was  something  over  three  hundred. — 
We  proceeded  to  bury  the  dead,  but  it  was  badly  done  ;  they 
were  thrown  into  convenient  piles,  and  covered  with  old  logs, 
|  the  bark  of  old  trees,  and  rocks  ;  yet  not  so  as  to  secure  them 


54 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


from  becoming  a  prey  to  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  or  the  Miltirros 
of  the  air  ;  and  the  wolves  became  so  plenty,  that  it  was  dan¬ 
gerous  for  any  one  to  be  out  at  night,  for  several  miles  around  ; 
also,  the  hogs  in  the  neighborhood,  gathered  in  to  the  place,  to 
devour  the  flesh  of  men,  inasmuch  as  numbers  chose  to  live  on 
,  litlle  meat  rather  than  eat  their  hogs,  though  they  were  fat ; 
half  of  the  dogs  in  the  country  were  said  to  be  mad,  and  were 
put  to  death.  I  saw,  myself,  in  passing  the  place,  a  few  weeks 
after,  all  parts  of  the  human  frame,  lying  scattered  in  every 
direction.  As  God  would  have  it,  there  had  but  few  of  our 

4 

men  been  slain — fifteen  or  sixteen — but  of  that  number  some  of 
our  bravest  men  •  Colonels  Williams,  and  Hamright,  with  Ma¬ 
jors  Chronicle,  and  some  other  distinguished  men,  had  fallen. 
These  we  buried  in  the  flat  ground  under  the  hill,  .near  where 
the  battle  commenced,  and  I  expect  their  graces  are  to  be  seen 
there  to  this  day. 

Of  the  troop,  or  company,  to  which  I  belonged,  we  had  two 
badly  wounded  :  one,  a  lieutenant,  by  the  name  of  Watson,  the 
other,  a  private,  named  Caldwell  ;  we  carried  them  to  their 
own  homes,  in  the  evening,  where  they  both  died,  in  a  few  days. 
Poor  fellows !  they  were  raised  together,  fought  together,  died 
nearlv  at  the  same  time  iu  the  same  house,  and  lie  buried  to- 
gether.  In  the  evening,  there  was  a  distribution  made  of  the 
plunder, .and  we  were  dismissed.  My  father  and  myself  drew 
two  fine  horses,  two  guns,  and  some  articles  of  clothing,  with  a 
share  of  powder  and  lead  ;  every  man  repaired  to  his  tent,  or 
home.  It  seemed  like  a  calm,  after  a  heavy  storm  had  passed 
over,  and  for  a  short  time,  every  man  could  visit  his  home,  or 
his  neighbor,  without  being  afraid.  After  the  result  of  the 
battle  was  known,  we  seemed  to  gather  strength,  for  many  that 
before  lay  neutral,  through  fear  or  some  other  cause,  shouldered 
their  guns,  and  fell  in  the  ranks  ;  some  of  them  making  good 
soldiers. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

BATTLE  OF  THE  COWPENS. 


OWEVER,  affairs  could  not  long  remain 
s^ua^011'  The  British  and  Tories 
V were  still  in  strength  below,  and  also  on 

the  west  side  of  Broad  River  ;  besides,. 
Georgia  was  infested  with  them.  It  be¬ 
came  necessary  for  us  to  be  again  in  mo¬ 
tion  ;  the  Tories  were  mustering  up  in  small  parties,  to  seek 
revenge,  and  we  again  set  out  to  chastise  them.  Those  Pon¬ 
ders,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  were  still  using  all  their 
exertions.  It  was  determined,  if  possible,  to  get  hold  of  some 
of  them.  For  that  purpose,  we  passed  above  King’s  Mountain, 
and  got  into  their  ranging  ground,  but  they  eluded  us.  Here,  I 
was  put  to  a  trial  that  I  have  not  forgotten,  nor  never  will  forget. 
We  had  caught  the  old  father  of  the  clan  that  we  were  in 
search  of;  he  was  a  very  old,  grayheaded  man,  and  was  brought 
before  the  colonel  and  threatened  with  instant  death  unless  he 
would  tell  where  his  sons  were.  The  old  man  declared  he  did 
not  know,  but  being  still  threatened,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  laid 
off  his  hat  and  began  to  beg  for  his  life.  ITe  no  doubt  thought 
his  life  was  at  stake.  While  he  was  in  this  situation  a  man  in 
the  company  took  me  aside,  and  holding  a  long  spear  in  his 
hand,  with  a  handle  perhaps  six  or  eight  feet  long,  said,  “  I 

want  you  to  take  this  spear  and  run  it  through  that  d — d  old 

55 


i 


56 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  Ofr  A 


Tory  ;  lie  ought  to  die.”  “No,”  said  I,  “lie  is  too  old  ;  besides 
the  colonel  would  never  forgive  me ;  he  is  a  prisoner  and  he 
don't  intend  to  kill  him.”  “  Oh,”  said  he,  “I  can  easily  plead 
you  off  with  the  colonel ;  ”  then  putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket 
he  drew  out  a  purse  of  money,  saying,  “Here  is  twenty  dob 
lars — [showing  the  silver] — I  will  give  you  this  to  kill  him.” 
I  felt  insulted.  I  thought  he  underrated  mv  real  character,  and 
thought  that  through  my  youth  and  inexperience,  he  would  bribe 
me  to  do  a  deed  that  he  himself  Would  be  ashamed  of.  I  turn¬ 
ed  away,  saying,  “  It  will  take  but  one  to  do  it,  and  you  can  do 
it  as  easily  as  I  can.”  I  thank  God,  I  escaped  the  temptation, 
for  I  verily  believe  had  I  committed  the  deed,  the  ghost  of  that 
old  man  would  have  haunted  me  to  this  day  ;  but  1  thank  God, 
I  never  had  a  desire  to  take  away  the  life  of  any  man,  even  my 
worst  enemy.  A  man  in  battle,  or  in  the  heat  of  passion, 
might  deem  it  necessary,  but  after  much  reflection,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  no  man,  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  real  patriotism, 
would  seek  revenge  by  taking  away  his  enemy’s  life.  At  all 
events  it  gave  me  a  dislike  to  the  man  that  made  the  proposal, 
and  I  never  thought  favorably  of  him  afterwards.  I  knew  him 
a  number  of  years  after  ;  he  at  last  ran  distracted  and  died  so, 
and  I  have  often  thought  that  he  was  rotten  at  the  core,  and 
consequently  remorse  had  overtaken  him,  for  something  wrong. 
However,  the  poor  old  Tory  was  set  at  liberty,  after  getting  a 
friendly  admonition  from  the  colonel.  It  was  not  long  until  it 
became  necessary  for  us  to  seek  safety  by  joining  Morgan,  who 
was  encamped  at  the  Cowpens,  but  we  were  not  permitted  fo 
remain  long  idle,  for  Tarleton  came  on  like  a  thunder  storm, 
which  soon  put  us  to  our  best  mettle.  After  the  tidings  of  his 
approach  came  into  camp, — in  the  night, — we  were  all  awakened, 
ordered  under  arms,  and  formed  in  order  of  battle  by  day¬ 
break.  About  sunrise  on  the  17th  January,  1781,  the  enemy 
came  in  full  view.  The  sight,  to  me  at  least,  seemed  somewhat 
imposing ;  they  halted  for  a  short  time,  and  then  advanced 


l 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  ^ 

rapidly,  as  if  certain  of  victory.  The  militia  under  Pickins 
and  Moffitt,  was  posted  on  the  right  of  the  regulars 
some  distance  in  advance,  while  Washington’s  cavalry  was 
stationed  in  the  rear.  We  gave  the  enemy  one  fire,  when  they 
charged  us  with  their  bayonets ;  we  gave  way  and  retreated 
for  our  horses,  Tarleton’s  cavalry  pursued  us  ;  (“  now,”  thought 
I,  “my  hide  is  in  the  loft;”)  just  as  we  got  to  our  horses, 
they  overtook  us  and  began  to  make  a  few  hacks  at  some,  how¬ 
ever,  without  doing  much  injury.  They,  in  their  haste,  had 
pretty  much  scattered,  perhaps,  thinking  they  would  have  an¬ 
other  Fishing  creek  frolic,  but  in  a  few  moments,  Col.  Washing- 
ion’s  cavalry  was  among  them,  like  a  whirlwind,  and  the  poor 
fellows  began  to  keel  from  their  horses,  without  being  able  to 
remount.  The  shock  was  so  sudden  and  violent,  they  could  not 
stand  it,  and  immediately  betook  themselves  to  flight ;  there 
was  no  time  to  rally,  and  they  appeared  to  be  as  hard  to  stop  as 
n  drove  of  wild  Choctaw  steers,  going  to  a  Pennsylvania  market. 
In  a  few  moments  the  clashing  of  swords  was*  out  of  hearing 
<and  quickly  out  of  sight ;  by  this  time,  both  lines  of  the  in¬ 
fantry  were  warmly  engaged  and  we  being  relieved  from  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy  began  to  rally  and  prepare  to  redeem  our 
credit,  when  Morgan  rode  up  in  front,  and  waving  his  sword, 
cried  out,  “  Form,  form,  my  brave  fellows !  give  them  one  more 
fire  and  the  day  is  ours.  Old  Morgan  was  never  beaten.”  We 
then  advanced  briskly,  and  gained  the  right  flank  of  the  ene¬ 
my,  and  they  being  hard  pressed  in  front,  by  Howard,  and  fall¬ 
ing  very  fast,  could  not  stand  it  long.  They  began  to  throw 
down  their  arms,  and  surrender  themselves  prisoners  of  war. 
The  wdiole  army,  except  Tarleton  and  his  horsemen,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Morgan,  together  with  all  the  baggage.  After  the 
fight  was  over,  the  sight  was  truly  melancholy.  The  dead  on 
the  side  of  the  British,  exceeded  the  number  killed  at  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  King’s  Mountain,  being  if  I  recollect  aright,  three  hun¬ 
dred,  or  upwards.  The  loss,  on  the  side  of  the  Americans,  was 
8 


58 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


only  fifteen  or  sixteen,  and  a  few  slightly  wounded.  This  day, 
I  fired  my  little  rifle  five  times,  whether  with  any  effect  or  not, 
I  do  not  know.  Next  day  after  receiving  some  small  share  of 
the  plunder,  and  taking  care  to  get  as  much  powder  as  we 
could,  we  (the  militia)  were  disbanded  and  returned  to  our  old 
haunts,  where  we  obtained  a  few  day’s  rest 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  HAZARDOUS  ADVENTURE. 


SUT  OUR  REST  did  not  last  long.  About  this  time, 
Cornwallis  commenced  his  pursuit  of  Morgan,  and 
would  consequently  pass,  with  his  whole  army,  within 
twelve  miles  of  where  we  were.  It  was  thought  ad¬ 
visable,  by  Moffitt,  to  send  some  communication  to  Col.  David¬ 
son,  who  was  encamped  near  Charlotte,  in  North  Carolina.  It 
was  determined  that  I  should  become  the  bearer  of  the  dis¬ 
patches  ;  the  task  was  somewhat  hazardous,  for  all  parties  were 
in  motion,  and  times  pretty  squally.  Col.  Moffitt  communi¬ 
cated  the  business  to  me  alone,  keeping  it  a  profound  secret 
from  all  the  men,  except  three  or  four  of  his  confidential  officers; 
at  the  same  time,  secrecy  was  enjoined,  advising  great  caution, 
and  the  avoidance  of  all  public  roads,  as  much  as  possible.  In 
order  to  do  this  I  was  compelled  to  take  a  circuitous  route.  I 
was  at  that  time  acquainted  with  the  country  and  all  the  private 
ways  through  which  I  had  to  pass.  Laying  aside  all  kinds  of 
arms,  and  every  thing  that  might  make  any  show  of  hostility, 
putting  on  a  hunting  shirt  and  hat,  and  being  lightly  equipped, 
I  was  prepared  to  start.  I  was  mounted  on  a  mare  that  I  com' 
monly  rode,  not  of  the  fleetest  kind  for  a  short  distance,  but  of 
bottom  sufficient  to  bear  her  out  in  a  long  race.  The  morning 
was  far  advanced  when  I  started  ;  I  had  perhaps  gone  four  or 

five  miles,  when  I  was  compelled  to  fall  into  a  public  road, 

59 


60 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


which  I  had  to  keep  for  a  short  distance.  When  I  entered  the 
road,  I  looked  to  the  right  and  saw  a  company  of  men,  at  a 
distance,  coming  at  a  smart  gait.  I  thought  from  their  appear¬ 
ance,  they  might  be  friends  ;  but  friends  or  foes,  I  had  no  wish 
to  be  examined  ;  I  therefore  urged  the  pace  of  my  nag  a  little. 
I  looked  back,  and  saw  some  of  them  beckoning  for  me  to  stop* 
but  I  did  not  obey  the  signal ;  I  saw  four  of  the  company  ad¬ 
vance  immediately  to  the  front  and  put  forward,  in  a  brisk  gal¬ 
lop,  after  me.  I  moved  on,  at  about  half  speed,  when  my  way 
turned  off  to  the  right ;  leaving  the  main  road,  I  hoped  the 
pursuit  would  end,  but  not  so — it  seemed  rather  to  urge  them 
on.  They  had  by  this  time  gained  on  me  considerably,  though 
not  within  shooting  distance  ;  they  began  to  halloa  to  me  to 
stop  or  they  would  fire.  I  then  determined  to  try  their  speed  ; 
knowing  that  they  were  encumbered  with  their  arms,  and  I 
thus  having  the  advantage,  I  put  my  nag  to  the  top  of  her  speed 
♦and  soon  began  to  distance  them.  From  where  the  race  com¬ 
menced,  I  had  two  miles  to  run  to  where  there  was  a  farm,  and 
a  long  lane  to  pass  through  ;  I  had  a  short  hill  to  run  down, 
and  a  small  stream  of  water  to  cross,  just  before  entering  the 
lane.  I  gained  the  top  of  the  hill  in  time  to  cross  the  stream 
before  they  came  in  sight.  Just  after  crossing  the  stream,  near 
the  end  of  the  lane,  a  small  path  turned  off,  that  pa£sed  around 
the  fence  ;  I  took  the  path  before  they  came  in  view,  and  was 
soon  out  of  sight,  it  being  a  pretty  smart  thicket  where  the  path 
passed  around  the  field.  When  they  came  in  view  of  the  lane 
I  was  missing,  and  they  rode  through  the  lane  to  a  house,  to 
make  some  inquiries  ;  by  this  time  I  had  reached  the  baek  part 
of  the  field,  where  I  could  have  a  fair  view  of  the  yard.  Im¬ 
mediately,  the  whole  company  came  up  ;  the  old  man  of  the 
house  was  standing  in  the  door,  it  being  only  a  short  distance 
from  where  I  turned  off,  and  told  them  the  circumstance.  He 
said  he  was  confident  that  he  knew  me,  and  told  them  who  I 
was.  They  were  some  of  our  oath  company,  who  had  heard  o-f 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


61 

a  Tory  party,  that  had  started  to  make  their  way  to  Cornwallis, 
and  they  had  started  out  to  intercept  them,  if  possible.  When 
they  heard  who  I  was,  the  officer  knew  me,  and  concluded  that 
I  had  fled  through  mistake,  thinking  it  was  the  other  party,  and 
laughing  heartily  at  his  own  men  for  being  distanced,  They 
turned  back  and  took  the  road  again  ;  after  they  were  fairly 
out  of  sight,  I  came  back  to  the  house,  when  the  old  man  told 
me  the  whole  story,  and  who  they  were.  So  I  took  my  road, 
and  went  on  without  any  further  interruption. 

It  was  impossible  for  me  to  reach  the  Catawba  river  before 
night,  and  the  river  being  very  wide  and  very  rocky,  and  diffi- 
cult  to  cross  even  in  daylight,  in  the  winter  season,  I  thought  it 
best  not  to  attempt  it  in  the  night ;  therefore,  I  stopped,  a  short 
time  after  sunset,  at  the  house  of  a  man,  named  Turnbull,  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  told  him  I  was  going  on  a  visit  to 
a  sister,  living  near  Charlotte — the  fact  was,  I  had  a  sister 
there,  and  he  knew  it,  so  that  saved  me  from  any  further  expla¬ 
nation.  I  was  on  my  way  by  daylight  the  next  morning — I  fell 
into  the  main  road  a  short  distance  from  the  river,  and  crossed 
over  in  safety.  I  went  on  to  Col.  Davidson’s  camp,  was  hailed 
by  the  picket  guard,  and  examined.  I  told  the  officer  that  I 
had  communications  to  make  to  the  commanding  officer,  to 
whom  I  was  immediately  conducted.  I  delivered  my  dispatch¬ 
es — he  opened  and  read  them  ;  after  asking  me  a  few  questions, 
he  said  :  “  Your  Colonel  confides  very  much  in  you,  being  so 
young.”  He  then  ordered  my  nag  to  be  fed,  and  some  refresh¬ 
ments  prepared  for  myself.  He  kept  his  quarters  in  a  house  at 
the  time,  and  invited  me  into  a  room  where  I  got  a  glass  of 
brandy,  and  some  breakfast,  for  I  had  eaten  nothing  that  day. 
After  a  short  sta}r,  myself  and  beast  being  refreshed,  he  gave  me 
a  paper  to  return  to  my  own  officer,  advising  me,  at  the  same 
time,  to  use  great  caution,  and  ordered  a  guard  to  see  me  across 
the  river.  Accordingly,  a  sergeant,  with  four  men,  conducted 
me  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  there  waited  until  I  was  safe 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


no 

on  tlic  other  bank.  I  made  no  delay  ;  after  keeping  the  main 
road  about  half  a  mile,  I  turned  off,  taking  a  private  way.  I 
thought  it  best  to  vary  my  route  a  little,  not  returning  exactly 
the  same  way  I  went.  After  leaving  the  main  road  about  six 
miles,  night  came  on,  and  I. called  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Spiers, 
a  particular  friend  of  my  father.  After  alighting,  I  was  shown 
into  a  room,  where  sat  six  well  dressed  men  around  a  good  fire, 
the  weather  being  somewhat  cold.  After  I  was  seated  one  of 
the  company  began  to  question  me,  and  seemed  to  be  more  in¬ 
quisitive  than  I  wished  him  to  be,  while  the  others  appeared  to 
pay  no  attention,  and  sat  conversing  among  themselves.  I  had 
no  wish  to  explain  anything,  therefore  I  replied  to  his  questions 
in  as  short  a  manner  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  be  abrupt,  and 
affected  to  be  ignorant,  as  I  really  was.  I  told  him  I  had 
been  over  the  river,  on  a  visit  to  my  sister’s,  and  was  returning 

home.  “  D - d  ticklish  times,”  said  he,  “  for  young  men  like 

you  to  be  traveling  about.  Are  you  not  afraid  that  Cornwal¬ 
lis  or  some  of  the  Tories,  will  catch  you  and  take  you  up?” 
“Not  much;”  said  I,  “they  have  no  use  for  me.”  “Why,” 
said  he,  “  would  you  not  fight  ?  ”  “  I  should  not  like  to  fight,” 

said  I.  “  Ah,  ha,”  said  he,  “  they  would  soon  learn  you,  and  if 
you  did  not  fight,  by  G — d,  they  would  put  you  in  a  place  to 
stop  a  bullet.  Did  you  not  see  Davidson’s  men,  when  you  wbre 
over  the  river?”  “Yes.”  “Well,  didn’t  they  offer  to  take 
you  up?”  “No,”  said  I,  “they  only  served  me  like  you  do — 
asked  me  where  I  was  going,  and  what  I  was  after,  and  after 
that  let  me  alone.”  I  wished  to  get  clear  of  his  inquiries,  if 
possible.  I  took  him  to  be  one  of  those  waggish  fellows,  who 
wished  to  divert  themselves  and  perhaps  the  company  at  the 
expense  of  others,  without  doing  any  great  credit  to  their  own 
wit.  Mr.  Spiers,  who  had  been  engaged  out  of  doors,  came  in 
after  dark,  and  asking  me  some  questions,  mentioned  Moffitt’s 
name,  when  my  friend  John,  (for  that  was  the  only  name  by 
which  I  knew  him,)  said,  “You  live  about  Moffitt’s,  do  you?” 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  (53 

u  Yes,  sir — in  the  neighborhood.77  “Well,  where  does  he  and 
his  men  keep  themselves,  now?77  “  I  do  not  know  ; 77  was  my 
answer,  “  the  last  I  heard  of  them,  they  were  over  about  Broad 
Biver.”  “Well,  by  G — d,77  said  he,  “if  he  don7t  look  sharp  his 
1  hide  will  be  in  the  loft,7  for  Cornwallis  is  coming  close  by, 
and  if  he  catches  him,  he’ll  show  him  no  favors.77  “  John,77  said 
Mr.  Spiers  “  you  are  not  perhaps  well  acquainted  with  Moffitt ; 
he  is  not  easily  caught,  and  has  men  that  will  fight  like  tigers.77 

Here,  I  must  mention  a  little  anecdote.  When  supper 
came  upon  the  table,  there  was  a  parcel  of  beef  bones  that  ap¬ 
peared  to  have  been  well  trimmed  at  dinner.  There  were  two 
good-looking  young  ladies,  whom  I  had  frequently  noticed  pass¬ 
ing  about  the  house,  and  I  thought  from  John’s  manner  that  he 
wished  to  attract  their  attention.  They  came  to  the  table  with 
an  old  lady  that  might  have  been  their  mother.  The  bone  that 
fell  to  my  lot,  was  a  round  joint  with  very  little  on  it  besides 
gristle,  and  my  -knife  none  of  the  sharpest ;  having  eaten  but 
once  during  the  day,  I  was  somewhat  keen-set.  After  getting 
a  few  scanty  mouthfuls,  I  made  a  rash  cut  to  get  a  little  deeper 
into  the  gristle,  when  my  bone  flew  rapidly  oft  my  plate,  and 
struck  the  partition  wall,  at  a  distance  of  some  two  or  three 
feet,  with  considerable  force.  No  one  seemed  to  pay  any  atten¬ 
tion  ;  but  my  friend  John,  to  add  to  my  mortification,  roared 
out  “  There,  by  G— d  !— that  has  fled  from  its  enemy.77  Mr. 
Spiers  arose  and  placing  another,  bone  on  my  plate,  something 
better  than  the  first,  said,  “Don’t  mind  him,  young  man,  he  is 
always  running  on  with  some  foolishness.77  Then  turning  to 
John,  said,  “  I  wonder  you  can’t  let  strangers  alone.77  “  By 
G— d,”  said  John,  “  the  fellow  looks  like  he  might  want  to  go 
a  courting,  before  long,  and  two  or  three  such  blunders  might 
ruin  his  fortunes,  forever.”  This  sarcasm  was  by  no  means 
pleasant  to  my  feelings,  but  I  was  obliged  to  stand  it,  and  kept 
silent ;  the  remainder  of  the  company  seemed  to  be  collected 
in  expectation  of  hearing  some  important  news.  After  supper, 


64 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


I  got  a  bed  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  avoid  John's  com* 
pan}'.  Before  it  was  light,  in  the  morning,  all  were  up  and 
stirring.  I  had  my  beast  saddled,  and  ready  to  start  by  day¬ 
light  ;  Mr.  Spiers  walked  out  with  me  to  the  gate,  and  was 
giving  me  some  directions,  when  John  came  out  into  the  yard, 
and  cried  out,  “  Mr.  Spiers,  that  fellow  is  going  off  without 
paying  his  bill !  "  “No,"  said  he,  “all  things  are  right ;"  at 

the  same  time  requesting  me  not  to  answer  John.  As  I  rode 
off,  John  called  out  to  me,  “  The  Tories  will  catch  you  before 
night."  I  told  him  I  thought  not,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 
I  had  about  thirty  miles  to  ride,  which  I  did  without  halting, 
and  by  noon,  was  among  my  companions,  and  delivered  up  my 
charge. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


FERRETING  OUT  THE  TORIES. 

HE  VERY  NEXT  NIGHT,  Morgan,  with 
his  prisoners,  lay  at  the  same  ford,  where  I 
had  crossed  the  river — and  Cornwallis  was' 
only  one  dayrs  march  behind  him.  There  was 
much  excitement  through  the  whole  country — 
scarce  a  man  staid  at  home.  Those  that  were 
not  collected  in  parties,  lay  out  in  the  woods  ; 
e~ery  article  of  furniture,  clothing,  or  provisions — 
that  was  worth  anything,  was  hid  out ;  some  in 
hollow  trees,  and  often,  hardware,  that  would  stand 
it,  was  buried  in  the  ground.  A  horse,  that  was 
worth  any  thing,  was  not  to  be  seen,  unless  tied  in 
some  thicket,  or  perhaps,  on  some  high  open  hill — 
where  no  one  would  go  to  look  for  property— and  if  a 
woman  had  but  one  quart  of  salt,  to  salt  mush  for  her  chil¬ 
dren,  or  a  spoon  to  sup  it  with,  she  must  keep  it  hid  ;  or,  if 
she  had  any  decent  apparel,  she  would  scarce  dare  to  wear  it. 
Scouting  parties,  of  both  sides,  were  scouring  the  country  in 
every  direction. 

But  things  did  not  remain  long  in  this  situation,  for  Corn¬ 
wallis  was  marching  rapidly  on  to  Guilford,  in  North  Carolina, 
when  Gen.  Green,  meeting  him  and  the  lories,  gave  him  a 
smart  check  and  they  began  to  cool  oil  a  little  inthc  paits 
9 


66 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


\ 


■where  we  were  lying,  high  up  in  the  country,  about  the  15tli 
of  March,  1781  ;  but  they  still  continued  their  depredations 
below.  We  were  for  the  most  part  kept  in  motion,  and  consid- 
erably  harassed  until  after  the  evacuation  of  Charleston  by  the 
British.  Shortly  after  this  event  we  commenced  ferreting  out 
the  Tories,  particularly  the  worst  ones,  and  such  as  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  plundering,  burning  and  murdering.  Those  we 
called  the  u  pet  Tories,”  or  neutrals,  we  never  disturbed,  but 
those  that  had  been  very  troublesome,  had  to  pay  the  piper. 

We  would  meet  at  a  time  and  place  appointed,  probably  at  a 
church,  sclioolhouse,  or  some  vacant  building,  generally  in  the 
afternoon,  lay  off  our  circuit  and  divide  into  two  or  more  com¬ 
panies,  and  set  off  after  dark.  Wherever  we  found  any  Tories,  . 
we  would  surround  the  house,  one  party  would  force  the  doors 
and  enter  sword  in  hand,  extinguish  all  the  lights,  if  there  were 
any,  and  suffer  no  light  to  be  made,  when  we  would  commence 
hacking  the  man  or  men  that  were  found  in  the  house,  threat¬ 
ening  them  with  instant  death,  and  occasionally  making  a  fu¬ 
rious  stroke  as  if  to  dispatch  them  at  once,  but  taking  care  to 
strike  the  wall  or  some  object  that  was  in  the  way,  they  gener¬ 
ally  being  found  crouched  up  in  some  corner,  or  about  the  beds. 
Another  party  would  mount  the  roof  of  the  house  and  com¬ 
mence  pulling  it  down  ;  thus  the  dwelling  house,  smoke  house 
and  kitchen,  if  any,  were  dismantled  and  torn  down,  at  least  to 
the  joists.  The  poor  fellows,  perhaps  expecting  instant  death, 
would  beg  hard  for  life,  and  make  any  promise  on  condition  of 
being  spared,  while  their  wives  or  friends  wrnuld  join  in  their 
entreaties  ;  on  the  condition  that  they  would  leave  the  country, 
within  a  specified  time,  and  never  return,  they  would  suffer  him 
to  live,  and  I  never  knew  an  instance  of  one  that  failed  to  com¬ 
ply,  and  numbers  put  off  without  any  such  measures  being  en¬ 
forced.  There  was  no  property  molested  except  the  buildings, 
nor  was  there  anything  taken  away.  They  were  at  liberty  to 
do  the  best  they  could  with  everything  but  their  lands  ;  those  \ 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  (37 

they  had  to  leave.  These,  I  believe,  escheated  to  the  State,  but 
I  am  not  certain.  There  were  none  of  the  poor  fellows  much 
hurt,  only  they  were  hacked  about  their  heads  and  arms  enough 
to  bleed  freely.  Many  of  the  worst  went  among  the  different 
tribes  of  Indians,  some  went  down  the  Mississippi  River,  about 
Natchez,  and  some  to  the  Spanish  country,  now  Louisiana, 
others  went  to  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  and  numbers  to  Tenn¬ 
essee  and  Kentucky  ;  most  of  those  who  staid  among  civilized 
people  became  good  citizens,  good  neighbors  and  men  of  re¬ 
spectability,  many  becoming  very  popular.  I  have  seen  many 
of  them,  years  afterwards,  that  I  knew  well,  but  they  did  not 
recognize  me,  and  I  never  mentioned  it  to  any  one.  In  those 
last  mentioned  excursions,  I  usually  stood  as  the  horse  guard, 
or  was  posted  in  the  yard,  as  sentinel,  while  the  others  were 
engaged  in  pulling  down  the  house. 


CHAPTER  X. 


RETURN  HOME, 

3HE  Y/AR  being  nearly  settled,  I  returned  home 
— but  did  not  stay  long.  My  father  was  a  poor 
man,  and  had  made  nothing  by  the  war ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  had  lost  a  considerable  share 
of  what  he  had  before  ;  besides,  his  own  time, 
and  mine,  on  the  farm,  for  nearly  three  years  ;  he  had 
also,  a  large  family  of  children  to  support,  and  a  proba 
bility  of  the  number  increasing.  I  was  growing  up — 
and  my  father,  knowing  that  I  had  not  the  best  feelings  for 
my  step-mother  ;  although  a  fine  woman,  in  many  respects,  I  have 
thought  and  still  think,  that  she  did  not  treat  me  with  that 
motherly  affection  and  kindness,  which  she  ought  to  have  done. 
But  she  had  a  number  of  children  of  her  own,  and  I  suppose 
she  thought  it  right  to  extend  her  partialities  to  them.  There 
being  no  great  prospect  of  making  anything  for  myself,  by 
remaining  with  my  father,  he  advised  me  to  turn  out  into  the 
world,  and  do  the  best  I  could,  at  the  same  time,  giving  me 
good  advice,  as  to  the  course  I  should  pursue.  Georgia  was 
then  a  new  country,  and  there  was  a  chance  of  obtaining  lands 
on  good  terms  ;  my  father  advised  me  to  make  preparations  and 
go  there,  and  endeavor  to  secure  some  lands.  My  first  object 
was  money,  which  was  very  scarce  and  the  wages  for  labor,  low. 

Before  I  could  go  to  a  new  country,  I  must  have  some  mon¬ 
ey,  and  I  had  no  way  to  get  it  without  labor.  My  father  gave 

68 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


69 


me  a  young  horse,  or  rather  a  colt :  I  had  a  snug  little  rifle  gun. 
I  took  my  colt  and  gun,  and  went  to  a  man,  a  great  favorite  of 
my  father’s,  who  was  called  a  punctual  and  honest  man,  and  a 
man  of  great  industry,  who  wished  to  hire  me.  I  had  very  lit¬ 
tle  knowledge  of  mankind  as  to  dealing  and  thought  every  man 
was  what  he  pretended  to  be.  We  agreed  that  I  should  work 
for  him  a  month,  which  was  a's  long  as  he  thought  he  would 
want  me.  He  and  I  labored  hard,  together,  late  and  early  ; 
we  would  sing  a  few  psalms  together,  after  supper  every  night, 
and  after  breakfast  in  the  morning,  which  suited  me  very  well 
for  I  had  been  accustomed  to  both.  When  my  month  expired, 
and  we  come  to  a  sattlemcnt,  I  found  my  colt  was  an  expense 
for  nothing,  for  I  had  to  pay  for  his  feed,  and  had  no  use  for  a 
horse — not  even  time  to  ride  him.  My  friend  Mclnnare,  for 
that  was  his  name,  took  or  pretended  to  take  a  great  fancy  for 
my  colt,  and  proposed  to  buy  him.  After  beating  me  down  in 
my  price  pretty  smartly,  he  persuaded  me  that  I  ought  never  to 
allow  my  conscience  to  ask  or  take  too  much  for  anything, 
which  doctrine  I  swallowed  down,  having  often  heard  it  preach¬ 
ed  before,  and  by  that  means  he  got  my  colt  considerably  under 
his  real  value.  I  was  to  wait  three  months  for  my  pay,  it 
being  in  the  fall,  I  thought  I  should  not  want  my  money  before 
March,  when  I  expected  to  start  for  Georgia. 

I  then  hired  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  Kincade ;  he  was 
a  stranger,  just  come  into  the  neighborhood  and  had  rented  a 
farm  that  was  considerably  out  of  repair,  and  he  wanted  a 
smart  chance  of  work  done.  He  was  a  man  of  very  fair  speech 
and  had  a  wife  that  was  a  dead  match  for  himself.  I  hired 
with  them  to  make  rails  by  the  hundred,  without  any  definite 
number  being  specified,  which  gave  me  a  chance  to  quit  when  I 
pleased.  I  went  to  work  and  labored  hard,  in  order  to  make 
as  good  wages  as  possible.  The  old  man,  in  the  meantime,  fell 
in  love  with  my  gun,  and  every  night  made  proposals  to  pur¬ 
chase  ;  1  did  not  like  to  part  with  her,  but  at  last  concluded  I 


70 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


had  no  great  use  for  her,  nor  had  I  time  to  spend  in  shooting. 
I  sold  her  to  the  old  man,  who  was  to  pay  me  at  the  time  that 
the  other  was  to  pay  for  my  horse. 

I  worked  on  .for  about  three  weeks,  in  which  time  I  had 
made  twenty-five  hundred  rails.  The  old  man  did  not  seem  to 
care  about  working  much  himself.  He  had  been  married  to  his 
second  wife  and  had  had  five  children  by  his  first.  His  present 
wife  did  not  appear  to  be  very  young  or  beautiful,  and  seemed 
as  though,  in  the  tempering,  she  had  been  cast  into  the  wmter 

while  very  hot. 

«/ 

There  was  a  still-house  within  about  a  mile  of  us,  and  the 
old  man  attended  pretty  regularly  with  his  jug.  When  he 
brought  it  home,  his  wife,  in  great  good  humor,  would  join  in 
with  him,  and  turned  up  her  little  finger  as  often  as  he,  and  nei¬ 
ther  appeared  disposed  to  give  much  away,  so  that  by  the  time 
supper  was  over,  (which  was  always  after  night,)  instead  of  psalm 
singing  there  was  considerable  swearing  to  be  done,  at  which  I 
thought  the  woman  was  the  hardest  hand.  I  had  been  taught 
to  believe  it  was  wrong  for  a  woman  to  swear,  and  I  think 
yet  it  adds  nothing  to  the  charms  of  beautiful  woman,  nor  do  I 
commend  it  in  a  man.  I  always  went  to  bed  soon  after  supper, 
and  when  they  got  their  steam  well  up,  would  sit  up  late,  and 
I  would  at  times  hear  some  unpleasant  remarks  made  about  the 
children  *  when  both  got  warm  the  old  woman  could  rather  head 
the  man,  until  she  got  his  mettle  up,  then  she  was  compelled  to 
knock  under.  I  began  to  get  a  little  tired  of  the  place  and 
proposed  to  the  old  man  to  be  off.  When  we  came  to  settle  he 
could  not  pay  me  for  my  labor,  which  I  expected  down  ;  he 
gave  fair  promises.  I  then  went  to  a  man  named  Alison,  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted.  He  agreed  to  hire  me  through  the 
winter,  if  I  chose  to  stay,  and  if  I  did  not,  I  was  at  liberty 
to  leave  when  I  saw  proper.  He  had  one  son  about  my  age 
and  another  older ;  we  had  been  raised  together,  in  the 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


71 


same  neighborhood.  Here  I  was  very  agreeably  situated,  for 
there  was  neither  psalm  singing,  drinking  whiskey  nor  swear¬ 
ing,  but  plenty  of  hard  work  to  do  all  day,  and  the  boys  and  I 
went  a  coon-hunting  almost  every  night. 

I  was  very  well  situated,  and  expected  to  stay  all  winter ; 
I  had  a  sister  married,  who  was  living  in  Georgia,  and  about 
Christmas  times,  she  and  her  husband  came  on  a  visit  to  my 
father’s.  My  father  and  brother-in-law  came  to  where  I  was 
working  ;  I  dropped  my  tools,  and  went  home  with  them.  After 
consulting  on  matters,  I  concluded  to  fix  up,  and  go  to  Georgia 
with  my  sister.  Having  but  a  short  time  to  make  arrangements, 
I  went  to  my  last  employer,  Alison,  and  told  him  my  intention ; 
he  paid  me  without  hesitation.  I  then  went  to  my  first  one,  but 
he  did  not  seem  so  willing  to  see  me  ;  the  time  had  not  elapsed 
that  he  had  to  pay  me  for  my  colt,  and  did  not  wish  to  suffer 
any  inconvenience  ;  he  would  not  give  me  my  colt  again,  al¬ 
though  I  offered  to  pay  for  his  keeping  ;  neither  had  he  the 
money,  he  said,  to  pay  me.  I  was  compelled  to  have  some  kind 

•r- 

of  a  horse,  give  out  my  journey,  or  take  it  on  foot ;  at  length, 

s 

he  agreed,  that  if  I  could  get  a  horse  that  would  suit  me,  on  a 
credit,  that  he  would  be  responsible.  I  knew  his  responsibility 
was  good.  I  went  to  an  old  neighbors  of  my  fathers,  by  the 
name  of  Walsh,  who  had  a  snug  pony,  that  I  thought  would 
answer,  and  made  him  proposals.  The  old  man  did  not  wish  to 
part  with  his  pony,  but  let  me  have  him,  more  from  an  accom¬ 
modation,  I  believed,  than  from  a  wish  to  sell.  In  this  matter 
I  lost  considerable,  for  my  colt  was  worth  two  such  ponies.  I 
then  went  to  my  friend  Kincade,  but  found  I  had  but  a  slim 
chance  of  getting  any  thing  for  my  gun  and  labor  ;  money  was 
out  of  the  question,  the  thing  that  I  most  needed.  At  length, 
he  proposed,  that  if  I  would  go  with  him  to  a  little  kind  of 
store  that  was  in  the  neighborhood,  and  take  some  articles,  he 
would  pay  me.  Thinking  that  something  was  better  than  noth¬ 
ing,  I  went,  and  got  a  very  few  articles  at  a  very  high  price — 


72 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


but  few  of  them  suited  me.  Anothe'r  sister  took  a  notion  to  go 
with  my  married  sister,  and  there  were  some  arrangements 
to  make  for  that  purpose.  We  got  all  things  ready,  and  bid 
farewell  to  Carolina.  My  sister  had  a  bed  and  several  articles 
she  needed,  and  I  some  clothing  to  carry  ;  therefore,  it  became 
necessary  to  pack  one  horse,  and  in  consequence  thereof,  I  and 
my  brother-in  law  had  to  walk,  time  about,  most  part  of  the 
way.  I  had  no  previous  knowledge  of  this  brother-in-law,  or 
what  kind  of  a  man  he  was  ;  but  I  found  him,  afterwards,  to  be 
one  of  the  best  of  men — as  true  and  firm  a  friend  as  I  ever  had. 
This  was,  if  I  recollect  right,  in  January,  1785. 

We  pursued  our  journey  without  much  difficulty  and  arriv¬ 
ed  safe  at  the  residence  of  my  brother-in-law.  I  had  expended 
the  most  of  what  little  money  I  had,  and  must  therefore  do 
something  to  reimburse  my  purse.  After  resting  a  few  days, 
and  endeavoring  how  to  consult  my  best  interests,  I  luckily 
found  out  there  was  a  man  who  had  moved  from  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  my  father’s  whom  I  had  known  almost  all  my 
life,  by  the  name  of  Fergus.  He  was  a  man  of  business  habits 
and  had  become  popular  in  the  country  and  the  appointment  of 
Surveyor  had  been  given  him.  He  lived  some  miles  higher  up 
the  country  than  where  my  sister  lived.  Fergus’s  residence  was 
one  of  the  outside  houses  on  the  frontier.  I  went  to  see  him  and 
explained  the  object  of  my  visit ;  after  some  consultation  on  the 
subject,  he  advised  me,  first  to  get  aland  warrant,  have  the  land 
surveyed,  obtain  a  grant — teach  a  country  school  for  a  few 
months — and  that  he  would  assist  me  in  so  doing. 


CHAPTER  XL 

VARIOUS  OCCUPATIONS. 


COULD  then  write  a  pretty  fair  hand,  and 
also,  knew  something  of  reading,  and  arith¬ 
metic.  I  took  the  advice  of  Fergus,  and  got 
a  school  of  twenty-five  scholars  for  three 
months,  at  one  dollar  per  head,  for  each 
scholar,  and  my  board,  in  the  bargain.  I 
fulfilled  my  time,  and  got  most  of  my  pay 
without  any  trouble  ;  I  was  urged  a  little  to  con¬ 
tinue,  but  did  not  like  the  business  ;  it  was  too 
confining,  and  I  thought  I  could  make  more  by 
joining  in  with  some  of  the  surveyors  ;  I  wanted  to 
see  the  country  :  I  agreed  with  Mr.  Fergus  to  go  as  a 
chain  bearer.  We  would  often  be  out  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  days  ;  it  required  four  to  do  the  surveying,  and 
we  generally  had  two  or  more  to  go  along  as  hunters,  to  keep 
us  in  provisions  ;  and,  sometimes,  there  would  be  with  us,  “land 
hunters.’7  • 

I  found  a  piece  of  land  that  was  vacant,  that  I  thought 
would  suit  me.  I  went  to  the  land  court  and  obtained  what 
was  called  a  head  right  warrant,  for  two  hundred  acres,  and  had 
it  located.  I  discovered  there  was  an  abundance  of  game  in  the 
woods  ;  I  became  fond  of  the  idea  of  hunting,  and  to  that  end,  I 
got  me  a  good  rifle.  I  knew  how  to  shoot  pretty  well,  but 
knew  little  of  hunting,  and  found,  that  it  required  some  expe¬ 
rience.  Deer  and  turkics  were  very  plenty ;  also,  bear,  pan- 


10 


>7  0 

i  O 


74 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  0F  A 


thers,  wild  cats,  foxes,  and  many  other  wild  animals.  I  turned 
my  attention  rather  too  much  to  hunting  and  became  almost  as 
fond  of  the  sport  as  David  Crocket,  but  never  was  near 
a  match  for  him  at  a  bear  hunt.  I  frequently  went  with  the 
surveying,  companies,,  and  generally  chose  to  become  one  of  the 
hunters  ;  thus  I  became  a  good  woodsman,  and  also  became  ac¬ 
quainted  with  all  the  water  courses  on  the  frontier  of  Georgia. 

After  the  lands  were  mostly  surveyed,  and  vacant  land  that 
was  good  not  easily  found,  a  great  many  young  men  that  came 
to  the  country,  and  were  entitled  to  head  rights,  would  sell 
their  warrants  for  very  trifling  sums.  I  shifted  about  until  I 
bought  three,  and  my  knowledge  of  the  country  enabled  me  to- 
find  lands  on  which  to  locate  my  warrants,  so  that  I  became  the 
owner  of  four  tracts,  containing  two  hundred  acres  each,  in  dif 
ferent  parts.  When  I  was  not  in  the  woods,  I  worked  hard. 

In  the  fall  of  1788,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  a  draft  of  twe 
thousand  militia  was  ordered,  to  guard  a  treaty  to  be  made  with 
the  Creek  Indians,  for  the  Saxmulgee  lands.  I  stood  my  draft,, 
and  drew  a  blank  :  there  were  numbers  that  did  not  wish  to  go 
and  were  eaner  to  hire  substitutes  ;  among  others,  I  hired  as  a 
substitute,  and  went.  We  were  marched  to  a  place  called 
Shoulderbone,  on  a  creek  running  into  the  Oconee,  and  about  a 
mile  from  the  river.  The  Indians  encamped  on  the  side  oppo 
site  to  us.  We  commenced  building  store  houses,  to  secure  the 
provisions,  and  a  house  for  the  council.  Around  the  Council 
House  was  enclosed  a  square,  of  perhaps  an  acre,  with  a  strong 
high  fence,  and  a  large  gate,  to  pass  in  and  out.  The  buildings 
being  finished,  the  parade  ground  was  cleaned  out  in  front  of 
the  lines.  When  the  council  commenced,  there  was  a  strong" 
guard  of  horsemen,  to  conduct  the  Indians  to  and  from  their 
encampment,  and  a  guard  at  the  ford  to  prevent  the  whites  from 
crossing  over  to  the  Indian  camp.  There  was  also  a  strong 
guard  placed  every  morning  in  the  enclosure  around  the  Coun¬ 
cil  House,  to  prevent  any  one  from  passing  in  and  out  to  disturb 
the  council.  Here  I  was  appointed  drum  major,  and  had  little 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


t©  do,  not  being  liable  to  work,  or  stand  on  duty.  Here  we 
lay,  until  we  began  to  get  somewhat  gay — having  little  to  do 
but  eat.  Our  commissaries  had  bought  a  good  deal  of  new  corn 
meal,  which  began  to  sour  and  become  unpalatable  ;  they  kept 
dealing  it  out,  although  there  was  plenty  of  flour  and  good 
meal  in  store  ;  but  I  suppose  they  thought  the  bad  meal  would 
be  a  dead  loss,  when  they  could  dispose  of  the  gootHo  advan¬ 
tage,  by  furnishing  the  Indians  therewith.  We  complained  to 
our  officers,  aud  they  applied  to  some  of  the  heads  of  the  de¬ 
partment  for  better  meal,  but  there  was  little  attention  paid  to 
their  application.  We  seemed  to  be  divided  into  two  classes  ; 
the  upper,  denominated  Highlanders  ;  those  of  the  low  country, 
Lowlanders.  Most  of  the  Lowlanders,  were  sick  and  weakly 
looking  fellows,  while  the  Highlanders  were  healthy,  stout,  and 
"frolicsome.  The  Highlanders  were  encamped  at  the  head  of  the 
lines,  near  head  quarters. 

One  clear,  moonlight  night,  a  number  began  to  parade, 
each  man  taking  a  brush  on  his  shoulder  instead  of  a  gun,  and 
commenced  marching  backwards  and  forwards  along  the  lines,  to 
have  a  frolic,  and  making  a  great  deal  of  noise  they  marched  up 
to  headquarters,  and  formed  a  circle  around  the  quarter  mas¬ 
ter’s  tent,  and  demanded  better  meal  for  the  future,  and  also 
their  rations  of  rum,  that  had  been  kept  back  for  several  days, 
threatening  to  take  it  by  force  unless  their  demands  were  com¬ 
plied  with.  Being  sharply  reprimanded  and  threatened  with  ar¬ 
rest  and  punishment,  they  marched  back  and  told  the  news.. 
Almost  immediately,  the  whole  line  of  Highlanders  were  paraded, 
and  each  man  shouldering  a  branch  of  a  tree  cut  from  the 
parade  ground,  commenced  their  march  up  the  lines  5  their  mo¬ 
tion  was  noticed  and  the  horsemen,  who  lay  at  some  distance, 
were  called  in.  The  march  continued  until  we  had  gone  round 
headquarters,  without  interrupting  any  one  or  anything,  and 
were  returning  to  our  quarters,  when  suddenly  the  horsemen 
passed  across  the  parade  ground  before  us,  ordering  us  to  stand 
<md  throw  down  our  branches.  The  word  was  instantly  given 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


by  our  leaders,  to  charge  ;  it  was  obeyed  with  a  general  shout ; 
in  a  few  minutes  most  of  the  horsemen  were  thrown  from  their 
horses,  and  run  over  by  the  crowd.  However,  they  took  five 
or  six  prisoners  that  had  become  entangled  in  some  brush.  All 
went  to  their  tents,  except  the  horsemen  who  were  kept  on  guard 
all  night.  Early  next  morning  there  was  a  considerable  stir  in 
camp,  and  some  of  the  officers  who  had  conducted  the  affair  of 
the  night  previous,  were  along  the  lines,  advising  us  not  to  re¬ 
cede,  and  some  of  the  other  officers  joined  in.  Very  soon, 
almost  the  whole  line  of  Highlanders  was  paraded  under  arms  ; 
a  flag  was  sent,  demanding  the  prisoners,  intimating  in  case  of 
non-compliance,  they  would  be  taken  by  force,  and  we  would 

forthwith  march  off  the  ground.  The  proposition  was  at  first 
rejected  and  the  dispute  became  very  warm  between  some  of 

the  officers ;  at  last  our  principal  leader  came  galloping  down, 
and  ordered  us  to  shoulder  our  knapsacks,  and  be  ready  to 
march.  The  most  of  the  Lowlanders  lay  neutral  in  their  tents, 
like  good  fellows.  Their  principal  officer  refusing  to  interfere, 
and  several  horsemen  turned  over  to  our  side,  alleging  they 
had  been  imposed  upon  in  the  same  way.  At  length  three  or 
four  of  the  principal  officers,  Gen.  Triggs  for  one,  came  rid¬ 
ing  down  the  lines  and  mildly  told  us  to  return  to  our  tents, 
like  good  fellows,  and  they  would  release  the  prisoners,  and  we 
should  have  good  provisions  for  the  future.  This  was  enough  ; 
all  consented,  and  harmony  was  restored.  It  began  without 
any  serious  intention  of  mischief  and  so  was  more  easily  quieted. 
I  merely  mention  this  circumstance  to  show  what  unruly  cattle 
a  set  of  militia-men  are,  when  they  have  nothing  to  do.  After 
lying  here  something  over  two  months,  the  business  was  conclu¬ 
ded  and  we  were  all  discharged,  and  returned  home. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  preceeding  this  treaty,  the 
Cherokee  Indians  had  been  somewhat  troublesome,  on  the  fron¬ 
tier,  and  caused  the  people  to  gather  into  forts  for  safety ;  men 
were  called  on  to  guard  the  forts  and  among  others  I  was 


drafted  to  serve  a  twenty  days’  tour.  I  went  to  a  fort  on 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


77 


Broad  River,  at  a  place  called  Skull  Shoal.  The  weather  was 
very  warm,  and  I,  among  others,  was  a  little  imprudent  about 
going  into  the  water  when  warm.  I  took  a  fever  and  had  to  be 
carried  home  ;  there  were  no  physicians  in  the  country  near  ; 
I  was  unaccustomed  to  physic,  or  fever,  it  being  the  first  severe 
attack  of  the  kind  I  ever  had.  Neither  did  I  ever  have  the 
shaking  ague,  although  raised  in  a  country  where  it  was  preva* 
lent  every  season  ;  I  had  a  high  fever  for  four  or  five  days 
without  intermission.  At  length  it  was  advised  by  some  to 
bleed  me  freely  in  the  feet  in  order  to  bring  on  a  shaking  ague 
which  I  have  thought  since  was  a  rash  proceeding.  I  submitted 
and  the  operation  was  performed — I  was  bled  plentifully  from 
the  feet.  It  had  the  desired  effect  by  bringing  on  a  severe 
;shake,  which  continued,  daily  for  nine  weeks.  The  shake  would 
come  on  about  noon  every  day,  then  a  fever  ensue,  and  about 
midnight  sweat  off.  In  the  morning  I  was  up  and  about  my 
business  until  the  shake  returned.  After  having  the  shakes 
some  days,  my  appetite  for  food  became  good  and  indeed  rather 
too  much  so.  All  this  time  I  took  no  medicine  but  simple  teas 
prescribed  by  some  old  woman.  I  got  very  tired  of  my  ague 
and  began  to  conclude  I  was  never  going  to  get  clear  of  it. 
Some  would  advise  me  to  do  one  thing  and  some  another,  by 
way  of  charm  or  spell,  but  to  tell  the  truth,  I  had  no  faith  in 
;any  such  things.  At  length  some  one  assured  me  that  if  I 
would  prepare  a  string  long  enough  to  tie  as  many  knots  as  I 
had  had  shakes,  and  when  1  felt  the  shakes  coming  on,  take  my 
.string  and  go  to  some  fruit  bearing  tree,  turn  my  back  and  put 
mv  string  around  Ike  tree,  and  counting,  tie  a  knot  for  every 
shake  including  the  one  coming  on,  and  depart  without  looking 
back,  it  would  cure  me.  I  own  I  had  no  faith  in  the  project, 
neither  would  I  recommend  it  to  any  one,  yet  I  thought  there 
could  be  no  harm  in  it ;  I  tried  it,  and  my  shake  coming  on,  it 
was  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  hold  out,  having  sixty-three  knots 
to  tie.  I  had  fatigued  myself,  and  my  shake  was  severer  than 
common  ;  but  be  that  as  it  may  the  thing  did  not  return. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

SCENES  AND  ADVENTURES. 


ARLY  in  the  summer  of  1790,  the  Cherokee  mid  Creek 
Indians  both  broke  out,  and  became  very  troublesome  all 
along  the  line  of  the  frontier,  on  the  tiro  sides  of  Geor¬ 
gia,  so  as  to  cause  all  the  inhabitants  there  residing,  to 
betake  themselves  to  forts,  and  the  militia  were  called 
out  to  guard  the  forts.  Among  others,  I  was  drafted  to 
serve  a  twenty  day’s  tour  ;  the  next  draft,  I  took  hire  as  a  sub¬ 
stitute.  It  became  necessary  to  have  spies,  in  order  to  discover, 
if  possible,  the  approach  of  the  Indians.  There  was  a  Captain 
William  Black,  who  had  been  raised  in  the  country,  had  been 
through  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians.  He  was  chosen,  at 
the  fort  where  I  was,  to  ride  as  a  spy.  He  and  I  had  hunted  a 
good  dealtogether,  and  he  chose  that  I  should  go  with  him  ;  we 
had  a  line  of  near  twenty  miles  to  ride,  including  four  forts, 
which  took  us  nearly  three  days  to  make  our  trip  and  return, 
always  having  to  camp  out  one  night.  In  starting  out,  we 
made  it  a  rule  to  travel  out  several  miles,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
cattle  range,  so  that  we  might  discover  any  trail  that  might  be 
passing  in.  I  was  little  acquainted  with  the  customs  of  the 
Indians,  and  was  compelled  to  be  guided  by  my  companion. — 
We  were  under  pay  for  our  services,  and  so  concluded  to  stay 
as  long  as  we  might  be  needed.  We  always  carried  provisions 

for  ourselves  and  horses.  Two  trips  had  been  made  without 

78 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


79 


our  making  any  discovery  ;  on  tlie  third,  we  started  out  very 
earlv  in  the  morning  and  travelled  nearly  all  dav  without  ma- 
kin"  anv  discovery  ;  late  in  the  evening  we  struck  a  fresh  trail 
making  in  towards  the  settlements.  It  appeared  from  the  sign 
that  there  was  a  pretty  smart  company  of  Indians  ;  we  follow¬ 
ed  the  trail  with  caution,  until  we  came  to  a  small  creek  ;  they 

had  waded  through  the  creek  and  the  water  was  still  in  their 
tracks.  As  soon  as  Black  discovered  that,  he  clapped  spurs  to 
his  horse,  saying  :  “  There’s  no  time  to  be  lost  here.”  I  follow¬ 
ed  ;  we  rode  briskly  on  until  we  got  on  to  high,  open  ground  ; 
then  halted,  and  took  a  view  all  round.  My  companion  then 
observed,  “  Me  are  in  a  ticklish  place  ;  for  it  is  quite  probable 
that  these  Indians  have  discovered  us,  for  they  cannot  be  far  offj 
and  if  so,  they  will  try  to  trail  us  up  and  catch  us  in  the  night.” 
The  sun  was  near  setting,  and  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  get 
into  the  settlement  or  fort ;  we  got  upon  the  highest  open  ridge 
we  could  find,  and  keeping  a  good  lookout,  moved  on  until  the 
dusk  of  the  evening.  Me  stopped  and  he  pointed  out  a  course 
which  he  directed  me  to  take  with  both  horses,  and  go  on  some 
three  or  four  hundred  yards,  then  stop  and  set  down  both  corn 
bags  and  open  them,  then  let  the  horses  eat,  but  not  to  unbit  the 
bridles,  to  keep  my  gun  in  my  hand  and  be  ready  in  a  moment, 
in  case  I  should  hear  him  coming,  haste  to  tie  the  bags,  and  be 
ready  to  mount,  that  he  would  way-lay  the  trail  perhaps  till 
some  time  after  dark,  if  no  danger  appeared.  I  obeyed,  and 
went  on  until  I  thought  I  had  gone  far  enough,  opened  the  bags 
and  put  the  horses  to  feeding,  standing  off  a  short  distance  and 
listened  attentively.  I  had  not  waited  long  before  I  heard 
Black  coming  in  a  run  ;  by  the  time  the  bags  were  tied  he  had 
come  up  :  each  one  threw  up  his  bag  and  mounted.  I  he  In¬ 
dians,  I  suppose,  had  discovered  him.  and  when  he  run,  pursued. 
By  the  time  we  were  fairly  in  our  saddles,  the  Indians  were 
within  a  short  distance— I  thought  thirty  yards,  but  perhaps 
the  distance  was  greater.  There  was  no  time  tor  counting  and 


80 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


it  was  too  dark  to  guess  at  numbers.  We  dashed  off  at  full 
speed.  The  horse  that  my  companion  rode  was  a  very  spirited, 
strong  one  and  blind  in  one  eye  ;  at  a  short  distance  from  where 
we  started,  there  was  a  large  fallen  pine,  with  a  heavy  top.  It 
had  probably  been  down  some  time,  so  that  the  branches  had 
commenced  rotting  ;  the  fright  perhaps,  and  he  putting  spurs  to 
his  horse  caused  him  suddenly  to  dash  in  among  the  branches  of 
the  tree,  with  a  great  crashing  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  I  was 
really  afraid  he  would  be  entangled  until  the  Indians  would  be 
upon  us,  but  he  came  out  safe.  The  woods  being  very  open, 
we  rode  fast  for  some  three  or  four  miles,  then  halted  and  lis¬ 
tened  awhile  but  heard  nothing.  We  changed  our  course,  and 
took  two  or  three  short  tacks ;  again  we  stopped,  sat  on  our 
horses  some  time,  and  no  danger  appearing,  dismounted,  stirpped 
our  horses  and  tied  them  fast  to  two  saplings.  Moving  our 
saddles  and  provisions  some  distance  from  our  horses,  and  tak¬ 
ing  our  guns  we  went  off  with  caution  for  some  distance,  and 
laid-down  upon  the  grass.  We  were  near  enongli  together  to 
watch  each  other,  and  be  able  to  speak  in  case  of  any  noise  ; 
we  laid  perfectly  still,  without  any  idea  of  sleeping  until  fair 
daylight  in  the  morning.  As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to 
see  plainly,  we  arose  and  took  a  view  all  around.  Seeing  our 
horses  standing  safe,  we  took  a  circle  round,  keeping  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  from  them.  Asking  his  motive  for  this  manoeuvre,  he 
told  me  that  we  were  in  the  enemy’s  country,  and  they  were  in 
the  woods  near  us,  and  we  had  been  discovered ;  that  there 
might  be  more  than  one  company,  and  we,  riding  *in  the  night 
might  be  discovered,  by  another ;  that  on  search  being  made 
by  them  in  the  night,  and  our  horses  found,  they  would  know 
that  we  were  not  far  distant,  and  to  make  sure  of  us  they  would 
lie  in  ambush  near  the  horses.  Advising  me  at  the  same  time, 
if  we  should  be  attacked,  it  would  be  imprudent  to  discharge 
both  guns  at  the  same  time,  but  to  retreat  as  well  as  possible 
keeping  close  together,  and  if  we  were  too  closely  pursued,  to 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


81 


stop  and  take  trees  ;  on  presenting  our  guns,  they  would  imme¬ 
diately  fall  to  the  ground,  which  would  give  us  a  chance  for  a 
new  start.  Unless  they  are  numerous,  they  will  not  charge 
fiercely  on  two  men  with  loaded  guns.  We  made  our  circle, 
but  saw  nothing  ;  we  then  went  to  our  horses  ;  all  was  safe  ' 
we  saddled  up  in  a  hurry,  got  our  provisions,  and  started. — 
After  riding  some  distance,  we  alighted,  fed  our  horses,  and 
took  something  to  eat  ourselves,  for  we  were  hungry,  having 
eaten  nothing  the  night  before.  I  would  here  remark,  that  it 
is  an  invariable  rule  with  an  Indian,  when  once  discovered,  to* 
give  over  all  further  pursuit  of  his  object  for  the  present.  My 
companion  seemed  to  be  aware  of  this,  so  that  we  kept  on  our 
route,  without  returning  to  the  fort  to  give  the  alarm. 

As  soon  as  the  fall  season  approached,  the  Indians  always 
gave  up  their  depredations,  and  all  was  peace,  until  the  return 
of  summer,  when  they  would  repeat  their  former  acts,  and  so 
contiuue  to  do  until  its  close.  During  the  fall  and  winter,  most 
of  the  families  would  leave  the  forts,  go  home  and  attend  to- 
their  affairs,  until  the  Indians  broke  out  the  next  summer.  As 
soon  as  it  was  peaceable,  I  would  return  to  the  settlement,  and 
go  to  hard  labor  during  winter  and  spring.  I  could  use  the  axe, 
maul  and  wedges,  or  mattock,  as  well  as  most  men,  and  I  pre¬ 
ferred  exercise  to  sedentary  habits.  There  was  a  cooper  work¬ 
ed  at  the  place  where  I  generally  made  my  home,  and  in  bad 
weather,  or  at  any  idle  time,  I  was  always  in  the  shop  at  work, 
by  which  means  I  learned  to  make  a  pretty  good  rough  vessel.  ** 
Jumping,  running  and  wrestling,  were  very  fashionable  in  those 
times  ;  these  I  practised  very  often,  and  though  not  one  of  the 
first  class,  I  rated  pretty  well  in  the  second. 


11 


CHAPTER  XIII- 

THE  SPRING  OF  1791.  THE  INDIANS. 


EPREHATIONS  by  the  Indians,  were  again 
commenced,  in  the  spring,  or  rather  Summer, 
of  1791.  They  committed  more  murders  and 
stole  more  horses,  than  they  did  the  summer 
preceding.  It  is  not  common  for  Indians, 

i 

unless  in  considerable  force,  to  attack  in  broad 
day-light,  a  fort,  or  place,  guarded  by  a  num¬ 
ber  of  men.  On  the  contrary,  they  always  choose 
the  twilight  of  the  evening,  or  the  morning,  before 
sunrise — but  so  it  was.  There  was  a  fort  called 
Bridge’s  Fort ;  it  stood  on  high  ground.  In  front  was 
an  open  field,  in  which  stood  a  large  mulberry  tree  ; — * 
the  tree  was  full  of  fruit,  and  the  fruit  was  ripe.  The 
proprietor,  one  day  before  noon,  concluded  he  would  have  some 
“of  the  fruit ;  thinking  of  no  danger,  he  took  his  gun,  and  taking 
with  him  his  son,  a  small  lad,  he  went  to  the  tree  ;  setting  down 
his  gun  by  its  side,  he  climbed  up,  and  shook  down  the  fruit. — * 
While  his  little  son  was  gathering  it  up,  the  Indians,  unperceiv¬ 
ed,  got  near  enough  to  shoot  the  man  out  of  the  tree,  taking  the 
little  boy  prisoner,  and  commencing  an  attack  upon  the  fort, 
which  lasted  for  some  time.  At  length,  being  unsuccessful  in 
their  attack,  they  marched  off  with  their  prisoner,  the  gun,  and 

the  unfortunate  man’s  scalp.  A  runner  had  got  out  of  the  fort 

82 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  33 

at  the  commencement,  and  the  alarm  soon  spread.  By  sunrise, 
next  morning,  there  were  about  two  hundred  men,  at  the  fort, 
all  under  arms,  exclusive  of  the  guard  belonging  to  the  fort. 
Leaving  a  small  guard,  about  two  hundred  men  turned  out  to 

1  .  \ 

pursue  the  enemy  ;  we  took  their  trail  and  followed  them  ;  wc 
crossed  one  prong  of  the  Oconee  River,  finding  the  signs  very 
fresh,  and  that  the  number  of  Indians  had  increased.  We  went 
011  six  or  seven  miles,  keeping  spies  a  little  ahead,  my  friend 
Black  being  one.  On  crossing  an  open  ridge,  three  Indians 
appeared  in  front  at  a  distance  on  the  trail.  The  spies  fell 
back  and^  reported.  We  then  prepared  for  an  attack.  There 
was  a  large  creek  just  ahead  called  Barber’s  Creek,  and  a  thick 
eanebreak. 

As  soon  as  we  were  nearly  in  gun-shot  of  the  cane,  we 
were  ordered  to  wheel  to  the  right,  and  leave  the  trail,  keeping 
up  the  creek  a  small  distance,  where  our  woodsmen  assured  us 
there- was  an  open  crossing  place.  This  drew  the  Indians  out 
of  the  cane  into  a  kind  of  brushwood  on  our  left,  to  prevent  us, 
I  suppose,  from  crossing.  They  attacked  us ;  we  were  in  much 
more  open  ground  than  they,  so  that  they  came  up  pretty  close, 
making  all  the  hideous  yells  that  they  were  masters  of.  The 
contest  lasted  warmly  for  about  an  hour — I  thought  much 
longer  at  the  time.  During  the  action,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Ashworth,  and  myself  kept  close  together  •  we  both  took  one 
tree.  A  very  small  tree  will  cover  a  man’s  body  in  front  if  he 
stands  right.  We  had  discharged  our  guns ;  two  balls  had 
struck  the  tree  where  we  stood  and  knocked  the  bark  off  ;  there 
was  a  bunch  of  brush  and  vines,  nearly  in  front  of  us,  and  we 
had  both  noticed  the  smoke  rise  from  a  gun  in  this  place,  but 
saw  no  object.  We  shifted  quickly  to  another  tree  at  a  small 
distance  on  our  left,  and  discovered  an  Indian  on  his  knees  load¬ 
ing  his  gun.  Our  guns  being  loaded,  we  both  leveled  and 
fired,  nearly  at  the  same  time  ;  the  fellow  keeled  over  and  lay 
still  ]  he  was  too  near  us  for  his  friends  to  remove  him,  I  think 


I 


84 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


not  more  than  forty  steps,  so  that  when  the  fight  was  decided 
we  got  his  scalp  and  gun.  One  ball  had  struck  him  right  in 
the  breast,  and  the  other  had  broken  his  collar  bone.  After  a 
hard  and  obstinate  fight,  the  Indians  fled  and  we  had  four  fine 
fellows  killed,  and  if  I  recollect  right,  fourteen  or  fifteen 
wounded,  but  none  mortally.  How  many  Indians  we  killed  it 
was  impossible  to  tell.  We  got  ten  scalps,  and  found  by  the 
blood  where  a  number  had  been  taken  off.  It  is  an  Indian 
custom  to  take  off  all  their  dead  that  they  can  possibly  get  at, 
with  any  degree  of  safety.  I  suppose  we  got  the  fellow  who 
scalped  the  man  killed  at  the  fort,  for  we  got  the  scalp  and  the 
gun,  but  not  the  little  boy,  though  he  was  afterwards  given  up. 
We  buried  our  poor  fellows  as  well  as  we  could,  and  got  our 
wounded  all  safe  home,  where  they  recovered  in  a  short  time. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  these  were  a  party  of  Creek 

Indians.  Capt.  Black  and  myself  were  again  induced  to  ride 

as  spies  on  our  old  route.  This  was  on  the  Cherokee  line,  and 
—  / 

we  had  made  two  trips  without  making  any  discovery.  On  the 
third  trip,  one  morning  before  we  had  ridden  far  we  fell  on  a 
trail  that  made  in  towards  the  settlements.  The  people  were 
mostly  at  home,  careless.  We  took  the  trail  and  followed  on 
until  the  Indians  all  scattered.  Here,  I  would  again  remark 
that  the  Indians,  when  they  intend  doing  mischief,  and  come 
in  any  force,  as  soon  as  they  are  near  the  settlement  where  thejr 
intend  to  strike,  they  disperse  in  order  to  avoid  discovery  and 
meet  at  a  place  appointed,  near  where  they  intend  committing 
their  depredation ;  as  soon  as  we  discovered  they  had  scattered, 
we  pushed  on  with  all  speed  for  the  settlement,  to  give  the 
alarm.  As  soon  as  we  got  in,  the  news  spread,  and  almost  every 

family  fled  to  the  fort  tor  satet}7',  leaving  most  of  their  plunder 
behind. 

There  was  one  family  living  within  four  miles  of  the  fort, 
a  widow  by  the  name  ot  Crockett,  having  one  son  and  five 
daughters,  all  grown,  The  young  women  were  of  high  respect* 


85 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

ability,  and  considered  the  handsomest  in  the  whole  country,  so 
that  numbers  of  the  young  men  interested  themselves  in  giving 
them  all  the  assistance  in  their  power,  and  several  called  in,  in 
the  course  of  the  evening  for  the  purpose  of  urging  them  to  go, 
and  also  to  assist  them.  But  they  refused  and  alleged  it  was  a 
false  alarm  ;  that  there  had  been  several  alarms  when  there 
was  no  danger,  and  they  would  not  go  in  until  the  next  day. 
So  they  were  left  to  their  own  will,  to  risk  it  until  morning. 
Early  next  morning  three  or  four  started  from  the  fort  to  see 
the  result  and  help  them  in.  But  doleful  to  tell ! — when  they 
got  to  the  place,  every  one  lay  stretched  in  the  yard,  a  corpse, 
scalped  and  mangled  in  the  most  shocking  manner  imaginable, 
and  every  article  of  clothing  and  bedding  taken  away  and  the 
feathers  of  the  bed  strown  all  over  the  yard. 

The  news  soon  came  to  the  fort ;  we  collected  all  the  force 

*  * 

we  could,  pursued,  but  could  uot  overtake  them  ;  they  crossed 
the  Chattahoochee  river,  and  dispersed.  It  was  impossible  to 
trail  them  any  further — besides,  we  were  in  their  country,  and 
not  far  distant  from  some  of  their  towns— not  having  force  suf¬ 
ficient,  nor  provisions  ; — but  we  paid  them  for  it  afterwards. — 
They  committed  several  other  murders,  in  the  course  of  the 
summer,  near  the  same  place.  In  order  to  chastise  them,  about 
the  time  their  corn  was  in  full  roasting  ears,  there  was  a  com¬ 
pany  of  men  raised  and  started  out  to  their  town.  There  was 
a  town  called  Long  Swamp,  that  was  blamed  for  most  of  the 
mischief.  My  friend  Black  and  myself  were  in  the  company  ; 
we  steered  our  course  for  the  Long  Swamp,  and  having  good 
pilots,  we  were  in  the  town,  right  among  the  Indians,  before  we 
were  discovered — and  here  it  was,  helter  skelter  among  them, 
who  should  get  off  fastest,  without  offering  to  give  us  battle. — 
Few  escaped ;  men,  women,  and  children  were  killed  ;  a  few 
small  Indian  boys  were  taken  prisoners  by  some  of  our  men 
who  thought  they  could  make  slaves  of  them,  but  in  this  they 
found  themselves  mistaken  ;  for  after  a  trial  of  four  or  five  years, 


86 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


they  could  make  nothing  of  them  but  Indians,  and  sent  them 
back  to  the  nation. 

Here  I  must  mention  a  little  circumstance  about  my  friend 

Black.  After  killing  the  Indians  that  could  be  found,  the  men 

began  to  fire  the  town ;  there  was  a  house  shut  up,  and  Black, 

suspecting  there  was  some  Indians  in  it,  attempted  to  force  the 

door,  but  finding  it  not  easily  done,  with  his  loaded  gun  in  liis 

* 

hand,  sprung  up  on  the  roof,  thinking  to  open  a  hole  therein  and 
shoot  down,  as  soon  as  he  mounted.  The  timbers  being  rotten, 
the  roof  gave  way,  and  down  went  Black  into  the  middle  of  the 
house  ;  when  he  landed,  there  was  an  old  squaw  and  some  chil¬ 
dren  ;  the  old  squaw  charged  on  him  immediately  with  her 
hatchet ;  in  too  close  quarters  to  shoot,  he  closed  in  with  her 
and  called  for  help.  It  was  some  seconds  before  the  door  could 
be  forced,  but  when  done,  Black  was  found  in  close  hug*  with 
the  old  woman,  she  still  retaining  her  hatchet,  trying  to  strike 
him.  After  firing  the  town,  we  next  cut  down  the  corn,  thus 
leaving  the  place  a  heap  of  ruins. 

We  had  many  little  chases  after  the  Indians  but  of  small 
consequence — I  shall  mention  but  one  or  two  more.  The 
Creek  Indians  came  in  and  attacked  a  fort,  early  in  the  morn¬ 
ing.  Just  before  daylight,  in  the  morniug,  two  men  went  out 
some  distance  to  look  a  shoal  in  the  river  for  deer,  and  on  their 
return  got  among  the  Indians.  At  that  instant  the  firing  com¬ 
menced  ;  the  men  tried  to  make  their  way  to  the  fort,  but  were 
discovered  and  prevented,  some  of  the  Indians  being  between 
them  and  the  fort.  Another  party  was  firing  on  the  cowpens, 
where  some  of  the  women  had  gone  out  to  milk.  The  men  fled 
and  some  of  the  Indians  pursued,  while  the  others  kept  up  a 
firing  on  the  fort.  The  Indians  in  pursuit  had  fired  several 
guns,  while  the  two  men,  when  too  closely  pursued  would  take 
trees  and  present  their  guns.  The  Indians  would  fall  flat  to  the 
ground.  After  running  some  considerable  distance,  a  shot  from 
one  of  the  Indians  struck  one  of  the  men,  in  the  leg,  just  above 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


87 


the  ankle,  and  passed  np  the  hind  part  of  the  leg,  just  below 
the  knee,  but  without  affecting  the  bone.  He  still  run  on,  being 
protected  by  the  other,  who  would  turn,  present  his  gun  and 
thus  stop  the  Indians  until  his  companion  could  get  another 
start.  After  running  on  in  this  way  for  near  a  mile,  they  got 
to  a  canebreak  which  they  entered  and  found  a  small  stream 
of  water.  The  wounded  man  luy  down  in  the  stream  where  he 
was  covered  all  over  but  his  head,  and  the  other  left  for  the 
settlement  expecting  that  the  fort  had  been  taken.  He  had 
at  least  six  or  seven  miles  to  run,  to  get  to  the  nearest 
house.  The  alarm  spread  fast,  so  that  early  in  the  afternoon 
there  were  two  hundred  men  at  the  fort ;  but  behold  the  busi¬ 
ness  was  all  over — the  Indians  were  gone  and  all  was  still,  and 
no  damage  done,  only  the  one  man  wounded.  The  first  care 
was  to  hunt  him  up,  which  was  done  after  his  companion  got 
back  to  the  fort.  In  the  meantime,  all  the  people  in  the  fort, 
had  given  them  both  up  for  lost.  When  we  found  him,  the  poor 
fellow  had  nearly  given  himself  up  for  lost,  thinking  the  fort 
taken,  and  perhaps  the  people  all  murdered,  and  was  afraid  to 
crawl  out  for  fear  of  being  caught.  He  stated,  the  Indians  in 
searching  for  him,  had  crossed  the  stream  in  which  he  lay,  on  a 
log,  so  near  him  that  he  could  see  the  rings  in  their  ears.  At 
the  same  time  he  had  two  dogs  lying  near  him,  and  though 
usually  fierce,  lay  perfectly  still  and  never  even  growled,  as  if 
conscious  that  his  fate  depended  on  their  keeping  quiet.  This 
seemed  an  interposition  of  divine  providence. 

It  was  proposed  to  raise  a  company  and  pursue  after  the 
Indians  ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  fort  presuming  that  there  was 
not  more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  that  had  attacked  them.  In 
order  to  raise  a  company,  there  were  two  captains  turned  out  ; 
one  named  McClaskey,  and  the  other,  Howell.  McClaskic 
had  been  a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  on  the  frontier  of  South 
Carolina,  and  was  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  Indian 
warfare  ;  the  other,  Howell,  was  a  young  man,  just  got  into 


88 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


office,  no  doubt  of  sufficient  courage,  but  lacking  experience,  and 
a  little  rash.  Each  captain  soon  raised  fifteen  men,  in  all  thirty; 
they  were  deemed  sufficient  for  the  pursuit.  For  my  own  part, 
I  turned  out  with  McClaskey ;  we  made  sufficient  search  to 
discover  the  trail  they  had  taken  that  evening,  and  next  morn¬ 
ing  commenced  an  early  pursuit ;  we  followed  on  two  days,  and 
on  the  third,  early  in  the  morning,  we  crossed  the  Apalache 
river.  Some  two  or  three  miles  after  crossing,  the  signs  became 
very  fresh,  and  appeared  like  the  number  of  Indians  had  increa¬ 
sed  very  considerably.  It  was  proposed  to  call  a  halt  and  hold 
a  counsel.  This  was  done  ;  McClaskey  advised  a  return,  al¬ 
leging  that  from  every  appearance,  'the  enemy  was  vastly  superi¬ 
or  ;  that  we  were  in  the  enemy’s  country  and  that  no  doubt 
they  were  aware,  of  our  approach  and  number  ;  the  first  thing 
we  would  know,  we  would  be  drawn  into  an  ambuscade,  and 
perhaps  every  man  killed  ;  and  he  thought  it  not  right  to  urge 
men  into  danger  where  there  was  not  the  least  probability  of 
success.  Howell  insisted  on  proceeding  at  all  hazards,  saying 
he  was  determined  to  have  a  fight  before  he  returned,  if  only 
five  men  would  stand  by  him.  At  length  both  the  officers  got 
a  little  warm  on  the  subject,  and  some  unpleasant  words  passed 
between  them.  Each  one  stepped  out,  leaving  it  to  the  men 
to  follow  whom  they  chose.  McClaskey’s  men  all  fol¬ 
lowed  him,  and  five  of  Howell’s.  Howell  then  made  some 
remarks  rather  branding  his  men  with  cowardice.  .There  is 
something  in  man  that  cannot  well  brook  the  name  of  coward 
although  he  may  really  feel  something  of  the  effect.  They 
were  all  young,  vigorous,  and  full  of  life  and  action,  but  entire¬ 
ly  unacquainted  with  the  Indian  disposition,  and  scarce  one  of 
them  had  even  seen  an  Indian  in  a  hostile  attitude.  At  length 
the  men  belonging  to  each  company  followed  their  leader  and 
we  parted.  We,  the  retreating  party  steered  our  course  for 
home  as  fast  as  we  could.  We  got  home,  or  into  the  settlement, 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  following  day,  two  of  Howell’s  men 


« 


revolutionary  soldier. 


8(J 


ea'm'Gf  into  the  fort,  one  of  them  shot  through  the  fleshy  part  of 
the  thigh.  They  stated  that  they  had  proceeded  about  four  or 
five  miles,  from  where  we  separated,  and  the  thing  had  taken 
place  just  as  McClaskey  had  predicted,  and  that  the  probability 
was  that  the  others  were  all  killed.  Poor  fellows,— it  proved 
too  true  !  The  same  officer  and  two  others  then  raised  a  pretty 
strong  company,  and  pushed  on  with  all  speed,  to  learn  the  cer- 
tainty,  and  bury  the  dead,  if  we  could  find  them.  We  got  to 
the  place,  and  beheld  a  melancholy  and  distressing  sight.  It 
would  seem  from  every  appearance,  that  twelve  of  the  men  had 
fallen  at  the  first  fire  for  they  all  lay  within  a  small  space  of 
ground,  tomahawked  and  scalped — several  balls  had  passed 
through  some  of  them.  ,  As  for  Capt.  Howell,  three  balls  had 
passed  through  his  body,  and  one  had  broken  his  arm.  The 
other  four  had  attempted  to  escape,  and  had  run  perhaps 
three  or  four  hundred  yards  from  the  place  where  they  were 
overtaken,  and  two  killed,  and  one  of  the  others  received  his 
wound,  as  he  afterwards  stated. 

We  deposited  the  remains  of  our  poor  unfortunate  com¬ 
rades  in  the  earth,  the  best  we  could,  which  was  by  no  means  a 
pleasant  business,  for  they  had  now  been  dead,  above  four  days. 
I  have  often  wondered  why  they  had  not  been  torn  by  wild 
beasts  in  the  time.  We  could  account  for  it  no  other  way 
than  the  strong  smell  of  gunpowder,  that  was  on  them,  and  no 
rain  having  fallen  on  them  in  the  time. 


12 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RELIGIOUS  VIEWS— DANCING  AND  SINGING  SCHOOLS — HUNTING. 


NOW  retired  pretty  much  from  the  forts  and  fell  into  other 
business.  There  was  an  old  Dutchman,  with  whom  I  had 
some  acquaintance,  who  kept  a  tailor  shop,  and  to  im¬ 
prove  myself  in  the  business,  I  joined  in  with  him  to  work 
as  a  journeyman.  The  old  man  was  remarkably  fond  of 
horses,  and  was  thought  a  good  judge  ;  and  horse  trading  began 
to  be  quite  a  business  in  the  country.  As  there  was  not 
work  enough  to  keep  us  busy,  the  Dutchman  paid  a  good  deal 
of  attention  to  the  horse  trading  business,  and  encouraged  me 
to  join  him  in  it.  I  was  by  no  means  averse  to  it,  being  fond 
of  horses  myself.  I  acquired  considerable  insight  respecting 
the  diseases,  ages  and  forms  of  horses,  from  the  Dutchman,  and 
some  other  horse  traders  from  North  Carolina,  Virginia  and 
other  places,  with  whom  we  had  correspondence ;  also  the  treat¬ 
ment  necessary  for  horses  in  different  stages.  Before  I  dismiss 
my  Dutchman,  I  must  remark  that  he  taught  me  several  little 
Dutch  tricks,  that  not  many  persons  believe,  which  in  themselves 
are  simple,  yet  a  little  curious.  There  was,  also,  an  old  Dutch 
lady  lived  in  the  neighborhood  who  even  surpassed  the  old  man; 
for  some  of  her  feats  I  cannot  to  this  day  account.  About  this 
time,  preaching  began  to  be  popular  among  the  people,  which 
had  been  for  several  year  neglected,  as  is  usual  in  almost  all 
new  settled  countries.  For  when  people  have  to  labor  hard, 

live  hard — and  that  on  coarse  food,  and  wear  ragged  clothes— 

90 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


91 

they  have  little  to  spare,  and  it  is  hardly  worth  while  for 
preachers,  lawyers,  doctors  or  dancing  masters  to  attend  to  their 
case,  until  they  get,  at  least,  one  suit  of  clothing  and  other 
things  in  proportion  ;  and  I  even  think  we  might  besides  those, 
include  our  legislators,  and  those  connected  in  the  great  sanhe¬ 
drim  of  our  nation.  They  have  some  little  delicacies  about 
them  that  will  not  bear  rough  handling,  and  look  for  some 
other  delicacies — eating,  lodging  and  apparel — and  above  all 
they  like  to  be  furnished  with  a  pretty  good  share  of  money. 
But  to  do  justice  to  the  doctors,  I  must  confess  I  have  always 
found  them  to  be  the  most  liberal  and  humane  of  any  profes¬ 
sional  men  with  whom  I  have  been  compelled  to  have  any  inter¬ 
course.  To  the  lawyers,  I  have  been  under  few  obligations, 
and  feel  willing  to  excuse  them  measurably,  believing  they  gen¬ 
erally  act  up  to  their  profession  ;  but  the  priests — with  a  number 
of  whom  I  have  been  acquainted  and  had  some  intercourse — 
with  a  few  exceptions,  I  have  always  found  to  be  illiberal,  and 
have  been  more  exposed  to  their  contempt  than  pity,  because 
I  could  not  assent  to  every  creed  that  they  proposed,  nor  obey 
all  their  mandates  ;  neither  did  I  find  myself  able  or  willing  to 
advance  as  much  money  to  their  support  as  they  adjudged  I 
ought  to  do  for  the  neglect  of  which  duties  as  they  called  them 
and  the  doctrines  they  advance,  in  support  of  such  duties,  is 
that  a  man  might  be  inevitably  damned.  I  will  hereafter  per¬ 
haps  mention  some  circumstances,  which  gave  rise  to  the  above 
remarks.  I  made  it  a  point  to  attend  church  regularly  on  Sun¬ 
days,  and  often  on  other  days  of  the  week.  Not  being  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  any  particular  church,  I  attended  any  that  was  most  con¬ 
venient.  There  was  a  considerable  revival  in  religion,  and  we 
had  a  number  of  preachers  of  different  denominations — Pres¬ 
byterians,  Baptists,  Methodists,  and  once  in  a  while  a  Univer- 
salian,  and  being  under  no  obligation  to  any  particular  sect,  I 
attended  all  as  circumstances  suited.  Perhaps  through  the  prej¬ 
udices  of  education  and  some  early  impressions,  rather  enforced 


92 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP  A 


on  my  mind  in  youth.,  I  inclined  a  little  more  to  the  Presbyte¬ 
rians  than  any  other  sect.  I  thought  them  more  liberal  in  mat¬ 
ters  of  conscience.,  notwithstanding  I  thought  their  leaders  by 
far  too  rigid  in  many  things.,  and  not  doubting  they  preferred 
the  fleece  to  the  real  health  of  the  flock  yet  they  seemed  to 
avow  it  more  openly,  and  seemed  willing  to  inculcate  the  princi¬ 
ple  and  even  enforce  it  on  their  hearers  while  others  denied  the 
principle  but  strenuously  recommended  free-will  offerings  which 
I  thought  implied  the  same  thing  only  under  a  cloak. 

I  am  willing  to  admit  a  few  exceptions,  but  at  the  same 
time  taking  in  the  whole,  that  it  is  like  all  mechanical  trades, 
money  is  the  principal  object.  Here  you  might  think  I  was 
about  to  cry  down  all  religion :  far  from  it !  that  there  is  reli¬ 
gion  and  that  it  is  essential  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of 
mankind  in  general,  and  to  every  community,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  with  every  thinking  man.  For  without  it  no  community 
can  be  happy  or  prosperous,  but  this  religion  does  not  consist 
in  little  ceremonies  and  formalities  belonging  to  the  different 
churchers,  or  in  this  or  that  particular  church,  nor  in  believing 
everything  your  preacher  says,  because  he  tells  you  he  believes 
it.  As  self  interest  is  prevalent  among  all  classes  of  meu,  so  I 
am  apt  to  think  the  preachers  are  not  exempt ;  the  social 
friendly,  honest,  man,  that  acts  from  pure  motives,  that  renders 
justice  to  all  to  the  extent  of  his  power,  that  renders  to  every 
one  that  which  under  the  same  circumstances,  lie  would  wish 
others  to  render  unto  him — it  is  he  who  fulfils  the  great  plan  of 
nature.  That  there  is  a  God,  the  great  Creator  and  Controller 
of  universal  nature,  that  the  most  elevated  conceptions  of  man, 
can  form  no  adequate  idea  of,  only  through  his  own  mysterious 
works,  and  that  he  made  all  things  according  to  his  own  wisdom 
— to  fulfil  his  own  purposes  ;  and  I  think  few  will  deny,  that  we 
receive  all  the  blessings  of  life  from  that  exalted  being  and  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  all,  to  worship  him  as  the  author  of  our  being, 
and  of  .all  our  enjoyment.  For  my  own  part,  I  readily  grant 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


93 


the  right  to  preach  up  religion  and  morality,  for  doubtless  mor¬ 
ality  is  a  concomitant  of  religion,  but  to  bind  down  the  con¬ 
sciences  of  men  in  points  of  faith  and  modes  of  worship,  because 
it  is  your  belief,  or  in  case  he  refuses,  consign  him  over  to  eter¬ 
nal  damnation  is  too  intolerant  and  unfits  a  man  for  being  a 
good  parent,  husband,  citizen  or  patriot.  I  think  there  is  no¬ 
thing  more  opposed  to  patriotism  than  intolerance  in  religious 
'Creeds.  I  would  take  this  maxim  :  here  is  freedom  to  him  that 
would  read,  here  is  freedom  to  him  that  would  write,  here  is 
freedom  to  him  that  would  think,  and  farther,  the  thinking  fac¬ 
ulty  of  man  is  uncontrolable,  for  it  is  absolutely  not  under  his 
control,  much  less  that  of  another  and  of  course  must  go  free  in 
spite  of  all  efforts  to  control  it.  As  all  the  preachers  pretend 
to  ape  St.  Paul,  and  take  him  for  their  standard,  if  they  would 
pursue  the  same  course  and  determine  to  preach  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  and  lay  aside  their  little  sectarian  principles, 
and  unite  all  their  forces  to  accomplish  the  design  on  which 
they  all  say  they  have  set  out,  viz  :  the  happiness  of  man, 
I  think  it  would  show  a  more  patriotic  and  republican  spir¬ 
it.  Making  so  many  roads  all  starting  from  the  same  place,  and 
all  terminating  at  the  same  place,  and  all  for  the  very  same  pur¬ 
pose  and  the  hands  working  on  the  different  routes,  eternally 
abusing  and  insulting  each  other,  about  their  modes  of  worship¬ 
ing,  the  materials  they  use,  the  kind  of  tools  they  work  with, 
and  their  clothing  and  diet  also  called  in  question  and  even 
their  mode  of  sleeping  and  taking  nourishment  on  the  way  is 
often  found  fault  with.  If  they  would  concentrate  all  their  for¬ 
ces  and  make  one  common  cause  of  it,  and  set  all  the  laborers 
on  the  same  road,  I  think  the  united  efforts  of  all  would  make 
a  better  way  with  less  labor,  and  keep  in  repair  with  more  ease, 
and  travelers  would  find  ease  and  safety,  in  passing  the  road  ; 
there  would  be  fewer  toll  bridges,  necessary  to  be  kept  up  on 
the  way,  than  on  the  present  plan,  if  the  rulers  instead  of  being 
harsh  drivers  and  hard  taskmasters  would  take  the  lead  in  the 


n 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


work,  and  put  themselves  as  near  as  might  be  on  a  par  with  the 
common  laborers  and  by  industry  and  patience  set  a  good  exam¬ 
ple  and  not  claim  as  is  customary  enormous  salaries  and  per¬ 
haps  ten  or  twelve  rations  a  day,  and  that  of  the  very  best  the 
community  affords ;  but,  without  laying  a  finger  to  the  work 
they  stand  aloof  and  issue  orders  in  the  most  peremptory  man¬ 
ner,  under  the  severest  penalties  :  and  if  a  poor  fellow  that  is 
no  great  mechanic  and  has  labored  but  little  in  the  business, 
happens  to  bore  an  auger  hole  a  little  crooked  or  perhaps  cuts 
his  leg  a  little  with  the  foot  adze,  they  will  not  only  turn  him 
off  the  road  but  pack  him  off  straight  to  hell  without  the  least 
chance  of  redemption.  There  is  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong 
implanted  in  the  breast  of  every  man,  and  he  that  does  justice, 
loves  mercy  and  walks  humbly  before  God,  according  to  the  best 
of  his  powers,  I  would  respect  as  a  religious  man  whether 
he  belongs  to  any  particular  church  or  not,  or  whether  there  is 
any  particular  ceremony  attached  to  his  creed,  or  mode  of  wor¬ 
ship.  To  force  a  man  to  believe  a  thing  because  I  believe  it, 
or  to  enforce  any  religious  creed  on  another  man’s  conscience 
when  perhaps  I  hardly  believe  it  myself,  only  for  the  sake  of 
becoming  popular,  is  not  consistent  with  true  republican  prin- 
ciple.  If  honest  nature  made  a  man  a  fool  I  believe  it  is  out  of 
the  power  of  man  to  make  him  wise. 

I  think  old  Solomon  discovered  that  in  his  time,  if  God 
made  man  a  fool,  he  would  require  but  little  at  his  hands  for 
his  lack  of  knowledge.  The  most  of  men  have  some  reasoning 
faculties,  and  if  another  man  after  reasoning  on  the  subject,  can¬ 
not  view  religious  matters  in  the  same  light  that  you  do  it  is 
unfair  to  condemn  him.  God  only  knows  the  purity  of  the  mo¬ 
tive,  and  he  neither  needs  or  wants  the  assistance  of  man  to  sit 
in  judgment.  But,  enough  of  this  digression,  so  I  will  turn 
to  my  subject. 

So  at  the  same  time,  there  were  several  dancing  masters  in 
almost  every  quarter.  Notwithstanding  the  revival  in  religion, 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


95 


dancing  masters  got  sufficient  encouragement,  for  dancing  was 
very  fashionable  among  the  people.  I  was  immoderately  fond  of 
music  and  dancing,  so  I  made  it  a  point  to  attend  dancing  school 
pretty  often.  There  was  another  fashion  prevalent  at  this 
time  ;  so  soon  as  winter  approached,  every  woman  in  the  coun¬ 
try  that  wanted  a  little  cotton  for  spinning  would  invite  all  her 
neighbors,  old  and  young,  to  help  her  pick  some  cotton  of  a 
night ;  at  that  time  there  were  no  gins  in  the  country.  In  con¬ 
sequence  of  their  picking  a  smart  chance  of  cotton,  they  were 
entitled  to  the  privilege  of  a  dance  ;  after  they  had  finished  their 
task  of  cotton,  and  got  supper,  the  dance  commenced,  and  sel¬ 
dom  ceased  until  daylight  next  morning.  I  was  too  fond  of  the 
business  to  let  such  opportunities  slip,  so  I  frequently  attended 
on  such  occasions.  I  was  so  fond  of  it  that  I  determined  to  be¬ 
come  a  fiddler  ;  to  that  end  I  bought  a  fiddle,  for  which,  after 
having  her  adjudged  by  a  dancing  master,  I  gave  three  hundred 
pounds  of  leaf  tobacco,  which  was  selling  for  from  three  to  five 
dollars  per  hundred  weight.  I  commenced  practicing  on  my 
fiddle,  at  all  leisure  hours,  but  to  my  mortification,  after  making 
sufficient  experiment  I  discovered  I  could  not  perform  to  my 
wish — I  could  tune  the  instrument  well  enough,  but  I  never 
could  note  to  please  myself,  consequently  I  concluded  that  I 
could  not  please  others  that  were  judges.  My  fingers  were  too 
contracted  at  the  ends,  and  would  always  touch  in  playing  ;  I 
thought  if  I  could  not  perform,  equal  to  the  best,  that  I  would 
not  practice  at  all,  so  I  laid  aside  the  instrument. 

About  this  time  also,  singing  masters,  as  they  are  called, 
began  to  come  into  the  country.  I  was  fond  of  music  any  way, 
and  having  been  taught  something  of  vocal  music  in  early  life, 

I  attended  those  schools  under  the  tuition  of  what  was  called 
good  teachers.  There  were  two  of  the  most  noted,  one  by  the 
name  of  Neel  and  the  other,  Mays,  who  acted  in  concert,  and 
whose  school  I  mostly  attended  ;  sometimes,  others,  that  were 
not  so  good.  I  continued  this  practice,  until  I  commenced  tea- 


m 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


cliing  myself,  which  I  practiced  a  number  of  years  ;  of  this,  I 
may  say  more  hereafter. 

As  my  attendance  at  church  or  the  schools  I  have  spoken 

of,  seldom  required  more  than  two  days  in  the  week — say  Sat-- 

. 

urday  and  Sunday — sometimes,  not  so  much.  I  was  mostly  em¬ 
ployed  in  some  kind  of  labor — and  few  came  round  that  I  did 
not  understand.  I  could  use  an  axe,  mattock,  or  maul  ancl 
wedges,  and  in  this  few  could  head  me  ;  I  was  good  at  the* 
plow — a  work  I  delighted  in — or  at  the  hoe  ;  I  could  weave, - 
make  shoes,  cooper,  or  work  in  the  tailor  shop ;  I  could  use- 
some  carpenters7  tools  pretty  well,  and  whatever  business  suited 
best  I  worked  at.  Whenever  the  first  hard  frosts  set  in,  in  the 
fall,  I  always  shouldered  my  gun  and  put  off  to  the  woods  with 
some  hunting  party  •  the  best  hunting  season  generally  lasted 
about  two  months.  Game  of  different  kinds  was  plenty,  and 
peltry  was  bringing  a  good  price  '  deer  skins  were  worth  twenty- 
five  cents  per  pound,  and  other  skins  sold  according  to  quality 
and  all  were  as  good  as  cash  in  any  of  the  stores.  The  rule  in 
hunting,  was  for  each  man  belonging  to  the  company  to  draw  an 
equal  share  of  the  meat,  whether  successful  in  hunting  or  not,, 
while  each  one  kept  all  the  skins  he  took.  For  my  own  part,  I 
generally  pursued  the  deer,  which  was  the  most  plentiful  game,- 
and  their  skins  the  most  profitable.  I  have  frequently  killed 
five  in  a  day,  and  sometimes  more,  and  when  the  weather  was 
unfavorable,  I  have  often  hunted  diligently  all  day,  and  killed 
but  one  or  two,  and  sometimes,  but  seldom,  killed  none  during 
a  hard  day7s  hunt.  I  have  often  killed  old  bucks  that  one  sin* 
gle  hide  would  weigh  twelve  pounds,  but  I  do  not  recollect 
more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  that  I  ever  killed,  of  that  weighty 
that  I  weighed  separately.  It  requires  some  judgment  in  skin¬ 
ning  and  stretching  to  make  skins  pass  well  in  market.  The 
average  weight  of  good  skins  is  from  six  to  eight  pounds.  I 
have  frequently  in  my  hunting,  killed  foxes,  raccoons,  wild  cats 
and  sometimes  a  panther ;  turkies  we  seldom  killed,  when 


EVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER'. 


9  ( 


camped  out,  limiting,  except  for  our  own  use,  as  they  are  hard 
to  keep  from-  spoiling.  Bears  were  tolerably  plenty,  but  our 
bear  hunts  did  not  come  on  until  about  the  close  of  the  fall 
— at  which  time,  the  trapping  season  for  furs,  also  commenced.. 
Although  I  was  hard  to  match  at  a  deer  hunt,  vet  I  was  not  so 
good  after'  a  bear  though  fond  of  the  sport.  Among  all  my 
companions  in  hunting  for  deer,  I  never  found  but  one  man  who 
^  I  thought  was  an  overmatch  for  me  in  the-  same  woods.  I 
could  find  as  many  deer  as  any  man.  but  in  killing  he  was  a  full 
match,  if  not  better  than  myself.  I  always  thought  it  was 
owing  to  the  circumstance  of  his  shooting  at  more  risk,  for  lie* 
would  shoot  let  the  chances  be  good  or  bad,-  while  I  always1 
tried  to  make  a  pretty  sure  shot,  and  by  that  means  lost  many 
chances.  Bear  hunting  wras  attended  with  more  fatigue,  than 
any  other,  for  their  haunts  were  .always  in  rougher  ground  and 
often  attended  with  some  danger,  but  when  fat  their  meat  was 
thought  valuable.  It  always  requires  more  than  one  to  manage- 
a  bear  hunt  well.  The  largest  one  I  ever  assisted  in  killing,, 
after  the  hide  was  taken  off,  the  entrails  taken  out,  the  head 
and  feet  taken  off,  and  divided  into  quarters,  weighed  a  little- 
over  nine  hundred  pounds.  All  that  I  made  by  my  share  of  the- 
meat,  of  any  kind,,  was  barely  the  amusement  of  hunting  it. 

I  had  a  brother  and  sister,  both  older  than  myself  who  lived  in 
the  neighborhood  and  had  families.  I  divided  my  meat  for  the 
most  part  between  them  and  sometimes  with  the  neighbors  who 
were  fond  of  it  and  knew  nothing  about  hunting.  My  brother 
knew  nothing  about  the  woods,  or  use  of  a  gun,  unless  it  u  as 
on  a  general  parade,  or  in  <x  muster  field,  and  there  was  far  my 
superior.  He  was  naturally  fond  ot  tactics  and  made  it  his 
study,  and  always  bore  some  military  or  civil  commission,  and 
frequently  both. 

la 


CHAPTER  XT. 

••  THE  DAYS  WHEN  I  WENT  COURTING.” 

S  TO  MYSELF,  I  had  but  little  aim  r 
if  things  went  on  well  for  the  present, 
it  was  all  right ;  the  future,  I  studied 
but  little.  Like  the  most  of  men,  by 
mixing  so  often  in  company,  I  fell  into 
many  little  courting  scrapes,  of  which  I 
could  say  many  things,  but  it  would  be 
useless,  amounting  only  to  nonsense.  I  was  by  nature  an  ad¬ 
mirer  of  the  fair  sex  ;  indeed,  I  had  almost  a  superstitious  ven¬ 
eration  for  them,  for  I  thought  a  handsome,  neat  looking  female, 
almost  incapable  of  doing  wrong  ;  and  to  this  day  I  can  not 
avoid  feeling  a  kind  veneration  for  a  decent,  modest  looking 
female.  There  is,  however,  unfortunately,  a  class,  that  degrade 
themselves  and  fall  beneath  the  dignity  of  their  nature ;  that 
class  I  fortunately  avoided,  and  never  in  my  life  associated 
with.  That  fact,  I  doubt  not,  will  be  disputed  by  those  who 
know  me  ;  it  is,  nevertheless,  strictly  true.  Marriage  was  fash¬ 
ionable,  as  I  presume  has  always  been  the  case,  and  I  frequently 
offered  myself  a  candidate,  having  some  serious  thoughts  on  the 
subject.  I  was  not  in  possession  of  property  sufficient  to  make 
it  an  object  with  any  woman,  and  had  nothing  but  my  own  per¬ 
sonal  qualifications  to  rely  on  ;  I  was  conscious  that  even  these 
were  far  from  first  rate,  and  that  I  must  be  content  to  stand  in 

my  own  grade ;  neither  did  I  make  property  the  object  of  my 

.OS 


*99 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

pursuit,  though,  some  differed  widely  with  me  in  that  opinion  ; 
I  thought  there  ought  to  be  some  congeniality  in  the  mode  of 
thinking  and  acting,  and  a  mutual  agreement  in  sentiment  on 
all  subjects  that  might  be  connected  with  our  interests  through 
life.  Entertaining  these  views  I  made  several  selections — being 
frequently  in  pursuit  of  more  than  one  object  at  the  same  time. 
In  order  to  make  myself  friends  of  the  unrighteous  Mammon,  on 
one  side,  in  case  of  failure  on  the  other,  and  often  with  no  other 
intention  than  amusement,  I  was  often  well  received,  and  the 
probability  of  success  seemed  favorable,  there  appearing  a  wil¬ 
lingness  on  both  sides ;  but  the  subject  would  die  away  with¬ 
out  any  apparent  cause  on  the  part  of  either.  Again,  I  often 
found  myself  rejected  :  as  often  as  otherwise,  by  the  very  per¬ 
sons  I  cared  the  least  about — so  upon  the  whole,  I  had  little  to 
boast  of  or  regret ;  to  tell  the  truth,  I  was  by  no  means  overly 
anxious.  At  length,  one  summer,  or  rather  fall,  there  was  a 
considerable  demand  for  tobacco  hogsheads,  and  a  man  of  my 
acquaintance  took  an  idea  of  furnishing  a  number.  He  under¬ 
stood  the  business,  and  proposed  that  I  should  join  in  with  him. 
I  consented,  and  went  to  work,  taking  in  another  hand,  and 
hiring  a  couple  more  to  saw  a  quantity  of  timber.  There  was 
a  large  quantity  of  tobacco  made,  and  we  could  easily  sell  all 
the  hogsheads  we  could  furnish.  We  worked  hard,  early  and 
late,  tasking  ourselves,  after  our  timber  was  gotten  out,  at  two 
hogsheads  each,  per  day,  when  the  weather  was  good. 

The  man  with  whom  I  was  at  work,  was  somewhat  advanc¬ 
ed  in  years,  and  had  several  in  family,  some  of  whom  were 
grown.  He  had  married  a  widow,  with  four  or  five  children  ; 
the  old  lady’s  first  husband  had  been  a  tailor  fey  trade,  and  she, 
having  worked  a  good  deal  at  the  business,  had  become  a  very 
good  tailoress,  employing  herself  mostly  in  that  way.  "W  hen 
the  weather  was  unfavorable  for  out  door  labor,  I  always 
employed  myself  in  working  for  her,  without  making  any  ac¬ 
count  of  it.  By  taking  a  little  pains  to  please,  I  had  become 


100 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


something  of  a  favorite  with  both,  and  by  singing  music  with 
the  young  ones  frequently  of  nights,  of  which  the  whole  family 
was  very  fond,  I  found  myself  quite  agreeably  situated.  The 
man’s  mother  was  still  living,  an  ancient  lady  that  had  raised  a 
large  and  respectable  family,  mostly  sons.  The  old  lady  had 
married  a  second  husband,  who  also  had  a  family  ;  she  had  be¬ 
come  a  widow  the  second  time  ;  all  of  the  children  of  both  fami¬ 
lies  had  married,  except  the  two  youngest  of  both  families,  who 
were  daughters.  The  old  lady  still  retained  her  ancient  home 
In  South  Carolina,  about  forty  miles  from  the  place  where  I 
then  resided,  keeping  these  two  daughters  with  her.  She  still 
possessed  a  few  slaves  sufficient  to  support  the  three.  Not  long 
after  I  had  set  in  with  this  man,  the  young  sister  came  on  a 
visit  to  her  brother,  with  the  design  of  spending  some  two  or 
three  months  ;  there  being  several  young  people  about  the 
house,  I  found  it  no  difficult  task  to  become  in  some  measure 
acquainted  with  the  new  comer,  neither  did  I  feel  averse  to 
cultivate  her  acquaintance. 

I  made  it  a  point  to  accompany  her  to  church  every  Sun¬ 
day,  and  sometimes  to  the  singing  school  and  occasionally  to 
some  little  dance  that  might  take  place  in  the  neighborhood  ; 
the  old  lady  perceiving  a  little  growing  intimacy  between  us, 
seemed  inclined  to  encourage  it.  It  is  generally  the  case  when 
a  woman  wishes  to  accomplish  anything,  that  they  carry  their 
zeal  too  far  and  by  so  doing  injure  the  cause.  She  was,  I 
thought,  rather  anxious, — however,  the  thing  went  on  until  I 
began  to  think  myself  most  confoundedly  in  love.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  another  little  girl  in  the  neighborhood  with 
whom  I  had  formed  some  previous  acquaintance— a  sister  of 
■one  of  those  singing  masters,  whom  I  have  spoken  of,  by  the 
name  of  Neel — and  I  could  not  help  keeping  an  eye  on  her,  al¬ 
though  she  stood  a  little  more  reserved.  I  could  sec  her 
always  at  church  or  the  singing  school,  but  at  the  dancing 
.schools  or  little  country  frolics  she  was  seldom  to  be  seen. 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


101 

"When.  I  willed  to  see  her  I  had  to  visit  her  at  her  own  resi¬ 
dence.  I  was  not  confident  that  I  could  succeed  with  her, 
although  there  was  a  good  understanding  between  her  connex¬ 
ion  and  mvself.  Neither  did  I  feel  any  very  strong  doubts. 
She  was  a  beautiful  singer,  a  little  reserved  in  her  manner,  in¬ 
clined  to  be  serious  and  neither  so  handsome,  so  gay,  nor  full  of 
life  as  the  other,  still  I  felt  a  little  leaning  towards  her  that  I 
could  hardly  account  for.  She  was  an  orphan  girl,  and  desti¬ 
tute  of  property  and  living  with  her  sister,  but  a  man’s  prefer¬ 
ences  among  females  are  absolutely  inexplicable,  and  so  with  a 
woman  towards  men,  but  it  seems  the  business  was  wound  up. 
Here  was  a  fine  girl,  full  of  life,  with  a  good  appearance,  some 
property,  and  backed  by  friends  of  respectability  and  no  ob¬ 
jections  on  either  side.  Indeed  my  own  friends  were  urging  me 
on,  and  there  appeared  to  be  a  perfect  willingness  with  both  my- 
self  and  her,  and  if  there  was  any  other  feeling  between  us  I  am 
a  stranger  to  it  to  this  day,  and  except  some  little  liking  that  I 
had  for  the  other,  which  appeared  to  me  to  amount  to  nothing 
at  the  time.  Miss  Jane,  for  so  she  was  called,  had  extended  the 
time  of  her  visit  something  bevond  the  time  her  mother  had 
given  her,  and  it  became  necessary  that  she  should  return. 
Her  good  old  sister-in-law  proposed  that  I  should  accompany 
her  on  her  way  ;  I  very  willingly  agreed  to  the  proposal.  She 
had  four  brothers  that  I  was  well  acquainted  with,  and  two 
others  with  whom  I  was  not  so  well  acquainted.  Her  young¬ 
est  brother  lived  a  few  miles  from  her  mother,  and  thither  we 
concluded  to  go.  •  She  had  but  one  sister,  and  her  mother  and 
sister  I  had  never  seen.  I  knew  the  news  was  getting  out 
4among  them  and  I  thought  it  prudent  not  to  visit  the  mother 
and  sister  until  they  were  prepared  for  the  interview.  I  spent 
two  days  and  a  night  with  her  brother ;  after  setting  a  time  to 
return,  I  started  for  home.  I  let  the  time  for  returning,  pass 
over  designedly,  to  see  if  there  would  be  any  grumbling.  I  now 
started  on,  hardly  knowing  that  I  should  return  until  I  was  a 


102 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


married  man.  When  I  arrived  at  her  brother’s,  all  appeared 
to  be  right ;  I  met  Miss  Jane,  accompanied  by  another  young 
lady,  a  sister  to  her  brother's  wife.  On  my  first  interview,  I 
found  myself  blazed  on  by  an  unexpected  meteor  which  almost 
stupefied  me  ;  the  shock  was  almost  as  sudden  as  St.  Paul's  con¬ 
version.  In  the  person  of  Miss  Susan  I  thought  I  beheld  the 
greatest  beautv  I  had  ever  seen,  and  began  to  wish  that  I  had 
never  seen  Miss  Jane  or  any  other  young  lady.  In  my  first 
paroxism,  I  had  a  notion  to  forswear  every  other  woman  upon 
earth,  to  throw  myself  on  her  mercy,  and  in  case  she  rejected 
me,  never  have  a  word  more  to  say  to  the  sex.  But  objects,  by 
being  in  sight,  soon  become  familiar,  so  by  being  in  company, 
three  or  four  days,  I  concluded  she  was  nothing  more  than  a 
very  handsome  and  quite  agreeable  woman. 

Winter  was  coming  on  and  the  cotton  picking  frolics  were 
commencing  in  the  neighborhood.  There  was  one  to  take  place 
at  a  brother-indaw's,  some  live  or  six  miles  distant,  on  the  sec¬ 
ond  night  after  my  arrival,  to  which  they  had  been  invited  two 
or  three  days  previous.  They  were  all  going  and  I  was  invited 
to  accompany  them  ;  the  brother  and  sister-in-law  knew  nothing 
of  my  being  in  the  neighborhood — to  them  I  was  a  perfect 
stranger,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  play  a  little  deception. 
We  started  late  in  the  evening,  so  that  it  might  be  dark, 
and  the  company  should  all  be  gathered  before  we  got  there. 
This  brother  that  I  was  now  with,  was  remarkably  fond  of 
singing  and  there  was  one  song  that  I  was  in  the  habit  of  sing¬ 
ing,  a  little  singular  in  the  mode  in  which  it  was  to  be  sung. 
This  song  he  was  taken  with  and  frequently  insisted  on  me  to 
sing.  After  we  started,  said  he,  “  If  you  will  join  me  we  will  * 
have  some  good  fun  to-night.  There  will  be  no  danger,  for  my 
brother-in-law  is  fond  of  a  good  joke.  He  is  very  fond  of  pass¬ 
ing  jokes,  and  if  you  can  put  a  good  one  on  him  he  will  like  you 
the  better.  There  will  be  several  fellows  there  to  night  who 
will  be  quite  gay,  and  I  -want  to  lay  their  feathers  a  little,  just 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


103 

to  ha\  c  a  laugh,  and  will  be  responsible  to  my  brother-in-law 
and  sister.  I  will  introduce  you  as  a  travelling  preacher,  and 
you  must  keep  on  the  mask  until  after  the  cotton  is  all  picked, 
and  after  supper,  when  they  arc  about  going  home,  then  pro¬ 
pose  giving  an  exhortation  and  introduce  it  by  singing  that 
song.”  I  he  plan  laid,  he  named  it  to  the  women,  and  they  all 
declared  they  would  keep  it  a  profound  secret.  Here  was  an 
error  in  me,  for  I  always  believed  it  wrong  to  jest  with  serious 
matters.  We  arrived  at  the  place  just  after  dark,  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  expectation  the  company  were  all  gathered,  the  house 
was  full  and  all  in  high  glee,  and  some  three  or  four  young  fel¬ 
lows  cutting  up  some  pretty  high  shines  to  divert  the  rest.  So 
soon  as  we  stepped  in,  my  guide  introduced  me  to  the  man  of 
the  house,  saying,  “  Mr.  Green,  I  bring  you  Mr. - ,  a  travel¬ 

ling  preacher  ;  I  hope  he  will  be  received,  and  sister  H.,  I  hope 
it  will  not  interrupt  your  cotton  picking.”  In  a  moment  a 
whisper  passed  round  the  company  and  all  was  in  profound 
silence.  The  preacher  was  introduced  to  a  seat  near  the  fire  ; 
those  who  were  noisy  on  our  first  entrance,  retired  to  the  back 
ground  and  were  silent.  Mr.  Green  and  his  lady  took  seats 
near  me  and  entered  into  conversation,  while  all  my  company 
were  seated  near.  I  was  reserved  in  talking,  and  although  I 
had  every  muscle  of  my  face  under  complete  command,  yet  I 
was  sometimes  afraid  to  turn  my  eyes  on  my  companions. 
There  was  an  old  superanuated  maid  about  the  house  that  seem¬ 
ed  compelled  from  neccessity,  to  live  wherever  she  could,  but 
she  seemed  to  think  she  had  religion,  and  being  of  the  same 
faith  as  she  thought  I  was,  stuck  quite  close  to  me,  and  asked 
more  questions  than  all  the  rest ;  however,  she  was  frequently 
'called  off  to  see  about  the  arrangements  for  supper,  as  that 
seemed  to  be  her  province.  These  little  calls  relieved  me  very 
much  and  my  companions  being  aware  of  my  situation  and 
feelings  would  ingenuously  try  to  lead  the  discourse  into  some 
other  channel,  when  it  appeared  to  be  bearing  too  close.  Time 


104 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


passed  era  and  I  do'  not  think  I  ever  saw  as  much  cotton  picked’ 
in  so  short  a  time  by  the  same  number  of  hands. 

Supper  came  on ;  I  stepped  up  to  the  table  with  a  good 

♦ 

deal  of  solemnity,  and  gave  the  company  a  rather  lengthy  graces 
As  soon  as  supper  was  over,  they  began  to  collect  their  bonnets, - 
hats,  and  cloaks,  in  a?  very  silent  manner,  preparatory  to  going. 
I  was  standing  by  the’ fire  with  my  friend  Samuel,  for  that  was 
my  companion’s  name;  carefully  watching  their  movements. 
Mr.  Green  and  his  wife  were  about  the  middle  of  the  room, 
paying  some  attention  ;  all  were  in  motion,  just  ready  for  start¬ 
ing,  when  I  spoke,  and  told  the  people,  that  if  they  would  be' 
composed,  I  would  trespass  on  their  time  a  few  minutes.  All 
■were  soon  seated,  in  silence.  I  them  said  :  “  We  will  sing  a 
hymn  ;”  and  without  hesitation  commenced  my  song  ;  by  the- 
time  I  was  done,  Mr.  Green  and  three1  or  lour  others,  fell  pros¬ 
trate  on  the  floor  ;  Mrs.  Green  was  struck  speechless,  and  Mary 
— my  religious  old  maid,  with  eyes  like  two  full  moons,  was 
perfectly  motionless.  Mr.  Green  was  soon  up  and  had  me  by 
the  hand  ;  “  Well,”  said  he,  “  stranger,  I  have  seen  many  men, 
but  I  never  was  so  completely  headed  before  ;  if  you  will  stay 
with  me  a  month  it  shall  not  cost  you  a  cent,  and  then  you  may 
go  and  preach  as  much  as  you  please.”  Hats,  bonnets,  and 
cloaks,  were  quickly  laid  aside,  and  the  fiddle  out  of  its  case. — 
Poor  Mary,  after  collecting  her  senses  a  little,  stretched  out 
both  arms,  and  with  a  solemn  groan,  exclaimed  ;  “  My  friends,- 
we  ought  all  to  be  careful  what  we  are  about  to  night,  for  this 
is  no  man  that  has  come  amongst  us — it  is  the  devil !”  shaking' 
her  head,  she  continued,  “  It  is  surely  the  devil !  come  to  visit 
us  for  our  sins !”  It  was  not  long  before  I  was  made  acquaint¬ 
ed  with  Green  and  his  wife,  in  my  real  character  ;  however,  the 
dancing  went  on,  and  did  not  cease  until  sunrise  the  next  morn- 
ing.  I  would  here  remark,  that  there  was  not  a  drop  of  spirit- 
ous  liquors  at  the  place ;  neither  was  it  common  on  such  occa¬ 
sions.  I  am  well  aware  that  people,  at  this  day,  think  a  frolic 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  105 

could  not  be  carried  on  without  liquor  ;  but  this  is  all  a  mistake. 
It  became  necessary  that  I  should  pay  a  visit  to  my  intended 
mother-in-law,  who  I  had  not  yet  seen.  So  I  set  out  with  that 
view,  accompanied  by  Miss  Jane,  and  her  associate,  Miss 
Susan.  When  we  arrived  I  was  introduced  to  the  old  lady  by 
her  daughter,  and  politely  received.  The  old  lady  seemed  to 
be  perfectly  acquainted  with  me,  although  she  had  never  seen 
me  before.  I  staid  about  three  days  and  spent  the  time,  princi¬ 
pally  in  visiting  among  the  family  relations,  in  company  with 
the  two  young  ladies.  In  the  meantime,  Miss  Jane  gave  me  to 
understand  that  her  mother  had  a  wish  that  we  should  postpone 
our  marriage  a  few  weeks  in  order  to  make  some  preparations. 
I  was  well  aware  there  would  be  no  difficulty  with  the 
old  lady,  and  determined  not  to  bring  her  to  an  explanation 
until  the  final  crisis,  so  I  thought  I  would  let  the  thing  rest  as 
it  was.  It  was  my  intention  at  the  time,  faithfully  to  fulfil  the 
contract,  yet  I  wished  to  avoid  committing  myself  too  far.  I 
was  in  a  hurry — was  my  reason  for  not  consulting  the  old  lady. 
I  had  in  the  interval,  been  in  company  with  a  little  girl  near 
home,  and  there  was  some  little  leaning  that  I  could  not  account 
for  clearly,  and  as  the  matter  was  postponed,  I  for  the  first  time 
began  to  think  if  I  could  get  off  on  any  honorable  terms,  I 
would  do  so,  but  not  otherwise  ;  there  began  to  be  some  ap¬ 
pearance  of  a  chance  during  my  stay.  I  had  paid  some  little 
attention  to  her  associate,  Miss  Susan,  and  she  consequently  be¬ 
came  jealous  of  her,  as  a  competitor  and  a  rival.  However,  it 
was  without  foundation  on  my  part  and  as  much  so  with  the 
voung  lady,  for  it  was  a  mere  whim  of  the  brain.  A  jealous 
disposition  in  a  woman  I  believe  to  be  a  great  enemy  to 
sociability  or  happiness  in  a  married  state.  She  had  hinted 
the  thing  two  or  three  times,  but  I  still  thought  it  no 
more  than  a  joke,  and  knew  no  better  until  after  she  had  pro¬ 
posed  a  postponement  of  the  marriage,  which  I  found  was  done 

with  a  view  of  making  some  discovery.  After  some  explanation 

14 


m 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


she  proposed  for  the  affair  to  fall  back,  to  its  former  position. 
After  taking  a  view  of  the  affair,  I  determined  to  occupy  the 
ground  on  which  she  had  inadvertently  placed  me.  I  told  her 
as  things  were  I  had  a  notion  to  make  a  visit  to  my  father  before 
enthralling  myself.  I  had  not  seen  him  in  several  years,  and  it 
would  suit  me  better  now  than  after  marriage.  It  would  re¬ 
quire  three  or  four  'weeks7  time  and  by  my  return,  all  things 
would  be  ready.  She  beg'an  to  suspect  she  had  been  guilty  of 
some  error,  and  offered  some  apology,  so  all  passed  off.  There 
was  preaching  on  the  Georgia  side  of  the  river,  on  the  way 
that  I  was  to  pass  homeward,  and  herself,  with  five  or  six  oth¬ 
ers,  was  going  over.  On  parting  with  the  old  lady,  I  told  her 
that  I  would  call  on  her  at  no  very  distant  period,  and  perhaps 
make  some  requirements  of  friendship.  She  replied  that  she 
expected  she  would  always  be  ready  to  grant  any  favor  in  her 
power,  and  so  I  started  once  more  for  home.  On  our  way  to 
preaching,  I  discovered  for  the  first  time  that  the  affair  with 
Miss  Susan  was  not  the  only  one  with  which  she  had  found 
fault.  There  was  a  young  man  in  the  neighborhood  who  fre¬ 
quented  the  house  during  my  stay,  who  seemed  to  have  for  his 
object,  Miss  Anne,  step-daugliter  to  the  old  lady.  He  and  my¬ 
self  became  a  little  familiar  ;  the  news  being  out,  he  made  free 
in  some  of  our  walks,  to  enquire  about  the  probability  of  a 
marriage  taking  place  between  Miss  Jane  and  myself.  It  was 
a  rule  entirely  at  war  with  my  feelings  to  give  any  explanation 
to  a  stranger  on  such  subjects.  I  told  him  it  would  be  a  very 
desirable  thing  with  me,  but  thought  she  was  a  prize  not  so 
easily  obtained  ;  that  I  had  made  some  proposition  of  the  kind, 
but  she  appeared  to  be  distant  on  the  subject ;  1  doubted  being 
able  to  get  her  to  decide  in  my  favor.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
drawn  a  better  confession  from  her  ;  that  judging  from  her  own 
confession,  she  had  already  decided.  I  replied  that  I  suspect¬ 
ed  that  she  was  only  sporting  with  his  credulity,  in  order  to 
amuse  herself ;  that  women  were  fond  of  am u sine’  themselves 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


107 


tit  ilie  expense  of  men,  wlien  they  could  palm  an  absurdity  on 
them.  The  subject  was  dropped,  and  his  satisfaction  wras  not 
increased  further. 

It  seems  he  had  communicated  the  conversation,  and  she 

* 

had-  taken  umbrage  at  my  mode  of  proceeding,  alleging,  that  as 
die  had  fairly  committed  herself,  that  1  should  have  made  an 
open  confession.  Jones  contended  for  the  propriety  of  the  po¬ 
sition  I  had  taken  ;  upon  the  whole  I  thought  she  seemed  natu¬ 
rally  to  be  a  little  jealous  minded.  As  respected  Miss  Susan,  I 
thought  her  to  be  much  the  handsomest  woman  ;  I  thought  also., 
that  any  handsome  woman  was  apt  to  be  vain ;  at  the  same 
time,  I  thought  her  to  be  as  clear  of  that  foible  as  any  very 
handsome  woman  I  had  ever  known.  Besides  I  thought  Miss 
Jane  herself  fully  as  handsome  a  woman  as  I  wished  to  be  pla¬ 
gued  with,  and  I  thought  if  I  had  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  a 
jealous  woman,  I  should  prefer  an  ugly  one.  If  she  should  be¬ 
come  jealous  and  complain  to  her  neighbors,  which  would  be 
«ure  to  be  the  case,  she  would  receive  less  of  their  sympathy. — 
In  the  next  place,  I  thought  that  I  had  no  right  to  communi¬ 
cate  every  thing  I  knew  to  every  enquiring  fool  that  might  wish 
;to  hear  himself  talk. 

Before  we  got  to  the  place  of  preaching,  I  told  her  that  I 
still  had  an  idea  of  visiting  my  father,  and  that  the  time  of  my 
return  was  indefinite  ;  that  I  hoped  when  I  saw  her  again,  all 
would  be  right,;  that  I  should  not  stay  for  preaching,  as  I  had 
tsome  distance  to  ride  ;  so  we  parted,  apparently  with  good 
feelings.  At  the  time,  I  still  thought  that  I  would  return  and 
consummate  the  marriage,  not  dreaming  of  any  thing  to  the 
contrary.  After  I  had  gotten  off  by  myself,  I  fell  into  a  fit  of 
musing  on  the  subject,  and  found  that  I  was  likely  to  halt  be¬ 
tween  two  opinions.  I  rode  on  ;  late  in  the  evening  I  arrived 
at  the  house  of  my  good  old  landlady,  her  sister-in-law.  I  had 
been  there  but  a  short  time,  before  the  enquiry  was  made  : — 
^  Where  did  you  leave  Jane  ?”  u  Where  she  wished  to  be  ;  with 


10S 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


her  mother  ;”  was  the  reply.  “  Why,  dear  me !  I  thought  you 
would  bring  her  back  to  see  us.”  “  I  tried  to  do  so,  but  was 
disappointed  ;  I  fear  Miss  Jane  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
some  of  her  old  sweethearts  and  has  determined  to  stay  there.” 
“  Oh!”  said  she,  “  I  know  Jane  better  than  that.  I  expect  it  is 
you  that  has  met  with  some  one  else  that  has  turned  your  head.” 
11  No,  indeed  !  If  I  lose  her  I  shall  charge  it  altogether  to  you. 
If  you  had  been  as  good  a  friend  of  mine  as  you  pretended  to 
be,  you  might  have  kept  her  here,  and  then,  I  might  have  had 
some  chance — but  as  it  is,  I  am  afraid  the  jig  is  up  ;  that  you 
and  her  laid  your  heads  together,  just  to  make  a  fool  of  me.” — 
“  Oh!”  she  replied  ;  “  I  do  not  know  how  any  young  woman 
can  tell  when  you’re  in  earnest,  for  I  am  sure  I  cannot ;  there 
is  no  getting  any  thing  out  of  you,  for  you  never  will  explain.” 
“  There  is  no  explanation  needed  >  for  I  am  always  in  earnest,” 
was  my  reply.”  There  appeared  to  be  some  mystery  in  the 
matter,  which  the  old  lady  could  not  comprehend  ;  it  gave  her 
some  uneasiness,  for  the  mind  of  woman  is  inquisitive,  and  they 
dislike  to  remain  in  the  dark  about  any  thing.  I  left  her,  al¬ 
leging  she  would  get  some  intelligence,  when  she  should  again 
see  Miss  Jane. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


VISIT  TO  MY  FATIIER—RETURN  TO  GEORGIA— MARRIAGE. 

|N  THE  completion  of  our  work,  the  making 
of  tobacco  hogsheads,  I  left  the  old  man7s 
house  and  went  to  my  sister’s,  my  place  of 
retreat,  when  out  of  business.  After  a  short 
stay  I  was  prepared  to  visit  my  father,  but 
before  starting,  I  had  several  interviews  with 
my  little  girl,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken. 
The  result  was,  that  on  my  return,  we  would  be 
married.  one  °f  my  brother’s-in-law  having  con¬ 
cluded  to  accompany  me,  we  started  on  our  jour¬ 
ney.  On  arriving  at  my  father’s  we  found  all  well  ; 
several  of  my  brothers  and  sisters,  or  rather  half- 
brothers  and  sisters — for  they  were  children  of  the 
second  wife — though  much  younger  than  myself,  had  got  mar¬ 
ried  and  had  families.  There  was  some  rejoicing  on  my  arrival, 
for  I  had  been  absent  several  years.  They  were  all  living  in 
the  same  neighborhood  and  consequently  to  gratify  them  and 
myself  too,  I  was  obliged  to  stay  sometime.  Here  I  was  guilty 
of  a  little  error,  for  which  I  hardly  deserve  forgiveness,  al¬ 
though  it  was  productive  of  no  harm,  and  a  thing  that  proba¬ 
bly  happens  frequently,  yet  it  might  seem  a  little  ungenerous. 
I  had  on  the  road,  communicated  to  my  brother-in-law,  my  inten¬ 
tion  of  marrying,  when  I  returned  to  the  country  where  my 
v  "  109 


110 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


father  lived  which  was  thickly  inhabited.  Of  course  there  was 
a  number  ;,of  invitations  from  the  neighbors  for  me  to  visit 
them.  Among  others  there  was  a  near  neighbor  of  my  father’s 
who  had  known  me  when  quite  young  ;  I  was  urged  to  visit 
and  spend  some  time  with  him,  and  concluded  to  do  so.  I  had 
a  step-brother  about  my  own  age,  who  had  been  raised  with  me 
am4  lie  was  still  single,  living  with  my  father.  He  was  famil¬ 
iar  about  their  house  and  agreed  to  accompany  me  there. 
When  I  went,  there  were  several  young  people  about  the  house 
— some  three  or  four  more  than  belonged  to  the  family.  The 
familiarity  of  my  brother  among  them  soon  made  me  acquaint¬ 
ed.  At  that  time  it  was  fashionable  for  young  people  when 
assembled  together,  to  sing  songs,  •  and  very  often,  to  dance. 
We  had  not  been  long  together  before  the  singing  was  intro 
duced  and  I  felt  no  unwillingness  to  take  my  turn  among  the  rest. 
It  was  common  for  the  old  people  to  encourage  the  practice, 
and  to  often  join  in  the  amusement.  When  we  got  there  it  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  towards  night  more  than  a 
dozen  had  gathered  in,  and  most  of  the  company  staid  all  night 
and  quite  late  the  next  day-.  Among  others  was  a  young  woman 
belonging  to  the  house,  who  attracted  my  attention  ;  she  was 
just  grown  up,  and  as  I  thought,  handsome ;  I  soon  felt 
anxious  to  cultivate  an  acquaintance  with  her ;  she  seemed  on 
her  part  to  have  no  great  aversion,  and  soon  became  quite  fa¬ 
miliar.  I  was  urged  by  the  old  people  to  repeat  the  visit, 
which  suited  my  feelings.  I  did'  not  stay  many  days  before 
going  back,  taking  my  brother-in-law  along  to  make  the  inter¬ 
views  more  agreeable.’  All  things  went  on  well,  and  I  found  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a  private  conference  with  the  young 
lady.  This  encouraged  me,  and  I  soon  went  again,  and  by  this 
time  found  myself  once  more  confoundedly  in  love  ;  but  “  pleas¬ 
ures  are  like  poppies  spread  ” — the  time  was  at  hand  when  I  was 
to  meet  with  a  blast.  It  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  any¬ 
thing  a  secret,  more  especially  from  women  ;  I  had  not  commit- 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


Ill 


moated  anything  to  my  father  nor  any  of  the  family,  neither 
did  I  intend  doing  so  until  about  to  take  my  final  leave.  But 
my  brother-in-law,  in  conversation  with  my  father  and  step¬ 
mother,  “  let  the  cat  out  of  the  wallet.”  The  old  lady,  (my 
step-mother)  had  kept  a  strict  watch  over  my  proceedings,  and 
on  making  inquiries  of  her  son,  and  from  some  jokes  that  had 
passed  between  some  of  my  sisters  and  myself,  she  had  learned 
the  game  I  was  playing  at,  and  in  her  religious  zeal  she  could 
not  stand  it ;  she  found  means  of  leaking  out  the  secret  to  the 
girl’s  mother.  This  soon  put  me  down  to  the  lowest  note  in 
the  bass. 

Not  aware  of  what  had  happened,  I  again  called,  but  very 
soon  discovered  that  something  was  the  matter,  for  I  could  not 
account  for  her  conduct.  I  suppose  she  would  scarcely  have 
spoken  to  me,  if  she  had  not  thought  she  would  punish  me  by 
letting  me  know  she  was  in  possession  of  the  secret.  After 
making  some  inquiries,  she  frankly  told  me  what  she  had  heard 
and  how  she  had  got  the  news  ;  it  was  but  too  true.  I  scorned 
to  lie  and  found  it  necessary  to  extricate  myself  the  best  way  I 
could — but  how,  I  was  at  a  loss  to  know.  She  alleged  that  my 
conduct  towards  her  was  ungenerous ;  I  confessed  the  truth  of 
the  report — told  her,  that  at  the  outset,  I  had  only  professed  an 
attachment  to  her  person  and  company  ;  this  was  nothing  more 
than  the  truth  : — that  on  the  subject  of  matrimony  there  had 
been  but  little  said — that  she  had  not  committed  herself  by  ex¬ 
pressing  any  sentiment  in  my  favor — that  she  w  had  plowed  with 
my  heifer  and  found  out  the  riddle,” — that  now,  she  had  com¬ 
pletely  the  advantage  of  me.  I  told  her,  that  if  I  lived  to  re¬ 
turn,  I  was  under  the  promise  of  marriage — but  that  nothing 
was  sure  until  it  was  accomplished — that  it  ^ras  possible  I  might 
be  disappointed  ;  if  so,  it  would  not  be  for  the  first  time — that 
I  had  been  unfortunate  in  that  respect,  for  I  had  more  than 
once  thought  myself  as  good  as  married  and  had  still  failed, 
and  it  might  happen  so  again — that  I  thought  in  that  respect 


112 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


the  minds  of  women  were  changeable — that  if  they  were  almost 
ready  to  marry  to-day,  and  a  better  chance  offered  they  would 
be  apt  to  accept  it,  and  perhaps  be  perfectly  right  in  so  doing — 
that  I  never  intended  to  fly  the  path  myself,  but  allowed  all 
liberties — that  I  was  a  candidate  for  matrimony,  and  had  been 
for  several  years,  and  in  case  of  failure  this  time,  I  had  thought  of 
returning  to  my  native  country  and  take  a  wife  there  if  I  could 
get  one,  and  settle  among  my  friends,  and  with  these  views  I 
chose  her  as  an  object  worthy  of  my  attention.  That  I  had  in¬ 
tended  to  explain  my  motives  before  I  left  her — that  she  might 
think  of  the  matter  until  I,  in  case  of  disappointment,  should 
return,  which  would  be  in  a  short  time.  She  at  length  admit¬ 
ted  that  I  might  have  the  pleasure  of  her  company  if  I  desired 
it,  as  long  as  I  staid,  on  condition  that  the  subject  of  mar¬ 
riage  should  be  left  aside.  So  we  remained  good  friends  for 
the  remainder  of  the  time  that  I  staid. 

This  w^as  in  the  fall  of  1792.  In  the  course  of  a  few 

months  she  married,  and  I  saw  her  no  more  until  the  fall  of 

1817.  She  had  raised  a  large  family,  and  her  eldest  child, 

which  happened  to  be  a  daughter,  was  married  to  a  brother  of 

mine,  that  had  lived  to  be  a  kind  of  old  bachelor.  In  the  eve- 

¥ 

ning,  after  this  interview,  1  went  to  my  father’s,  a  little  out  of 
humor  with  my  step-mother  ;  while  sitting  at  supper,  in  a  se¬ 
rious  manner,  I  addressed  the  old  lady  thus  :  “  Well,  old  lady, 
I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  become  a  little  troublesome  to  you/’ 
“  Ah  !  how  so  ?”  said  she.  “  Why  I  have  a  thought  of  taking 
a  wife  home  with  me  and  shall  have  to  put  you  to  the  trouble  of 
giving  a  wedding  dinner  or  supper,  and  boarding  my  wife  a  few 
days.”  “  Oh,”  said  she,  “  if  I  like  her,  I  shall  think  it  no  hard¬ 
ship.”  “  Well,”  said  I,  *  *  it  is  Miss  M - ,  a  great  friend  of 

yours  ;  I  have  been  courting  her  ever  since  being  here  and  was 
doubtful  of  getting  her,  but  you  rendered  me  a  good  piece 
ot  service  which  brought  her  to  a  conclusion  at  once  ;  you  raised 
a  report,  you  and  Mr.  B.,  between  you,  that  I  was  engaged  to 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


113 


be  married  on  my  return  home.  I  told  her  it  was  nothing  but 
a  scheme  of  yours  to  get  me  off  that  you  might  keep  her  for 
your  own  son,  my  friend  James  ;  she  believed  it,  and  said  she 
would  match  you  for  being  so  cunning  ;  she  suspected  for  some 
time,  that  you  did  not  pretend  to  think  so  much  of  her  for  noth¬ 
ing.  So  the  story  was  of  service  to  me,  for  I  do  not  think  she 
would  have  come  to  a  conclusion  so  soon  had  it  not  been  for 
that.”  I  pretended  to  be  serious  on  the  subject,  and  kept  the 
old  lady  in  suspense  for  two  or  three  days. 

The  time  arrived  for  my  return  to  Georgia.  My  father 
who  had  given  me  many  moral  lessons,  gathered  up  several  books 
on  religious  subjects,  and  presented  them  to  me,  for  my  acceptancer 
enjoining  on  me  to  read  them  with  attention.  I  received  them 
with  a  promise,  that  I  would  read  and  consider  them ,  at  the  same 
time,  caring  little  about  it,  for  I  had  not  imbibed  the  same 
notions  on  the  subject  of  religion  that  he  had,  but  did  not  show 
any  signs  of  aversion  to  his  advice.  Moral  honesty,  indeed  I 
believe  to  be  necessary  for  every  man,  and  essential  to  the  well 
being  of  every  community,  and  determined  within  myself  al¬ 
ways  to  associate  with  persons  of  good  moral  character,  and 
respectability  or  have  no  associates  at  all.  On  parting,  I  ac¬ 
quainted  m)'  father  with  niv  intentions  and  took  leave  of  all 
my  friends,  once  more  for  Georgia.  In  a  short  time  after  my 
return,  I  made  up  my  mind  and  set  in  with  a  man,  of  my  ac¬ 
quaintance,  by  the  name  of  Petigrew,  to  make  a  crop.  Soon 
after  setting  in  with  him,  I  informed  him  of  my  intention  of 
marrying.  He  encouraged  me  to  proceed,  telling  me  he  would 
assist  me  to  set  up  housekeeping  ;  he  told  me  he  would  stop  all 
hands  a  few  days,  and  put  up  a  cabin  that  would  answer  for  the 
season,  and  further,  as  he  was  bound  to  furnish  my  board,  he 
w^ould  supply  whatever  provisions  might  be  necessary  for  me 
and  my  wife,  until  the  crop  was  finished,  without  making  any 
account  of  it.  I  concluded,  however,  not  to  make  the  cage 

until  the  bird  was  caught.  I  had  little  to  expend  by  way  of 

15 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


114 

/ 

making  preparation  for  a  marriage  feast ;  three  very  good 
horses,  a  few  articles  of  clothing  and  a  piece  of  land  was  the 
sum  total  of  my  effects,  and  I  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  sell 
a  horse  to  make  what  was  called  a  wedding.  Her  brother- 
in-law,  with  whom  she  lived,  was  a  poor  man  and  had  a  family, 
and  I  had  no  wish  to  cast  any  burden  upon  him.  The  news 
had  got  out,  and  I  knew  several  that  expected  to  be  invited,  so 
after  consulting  the  man  with  whom  I  lived,  I  determined  to 
cut  the  matter  short,  without  making  any  fuss  about  it.  I  took 
my  horse,  on  Saturday  evening,  and  rode  over  to  the  place 
where  she  lived  ;  staid  all  night,  and  on  Sunday  morning  pro¬ 
posed  my  plan.  At  first,  it  was  objected  to  by  the  man  and 
his  wife,  but  after  my  urging  the  matter  a  little,  and  giving  my 
reasons,  it  was  assented  to.  On  Sunday,  I  went  off  and  taking 
a  man  with  me,  obtained  my  license,  called  at  my  brother’s, 
and  engaged  him  to  meet  me  at  the  place,  next  evening.  I  then 
engaged  a  young  man  and  young  woman,  and  her  brother-in- 
law  engaged  a  couple  in  the  neighborhood,  all  to  attend  on  the 
occasion,  and  the  next  evening,  we  met  the  whole  party  includ¬ 
ing  the  household,  and  myself  being  ten,  and  on  the  evening  of 
Monday,  the  22d  of  March,  1793,  I  was  married  to  Miss  Neil. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  24th,  I  went  to  work  to  build 
me  a  shelter  ;  with  the  assistance  of  what  hands  there  were  on 
the  place  where  I  lived,  with  five  or  six  of  the  neighbors  that 
aided  me,  by  Saturday  night  I  had  a  kind  of  cabin  to  go  to,  and 
on  Sunday,  I  moved  my  wife,  with  what  few  articles  of  furni¬ 
ture  she  had,  and  they  were  not  many.  I  soon  found  that 
when  a  man  gets  a  wife,  he  stands  in  need  of  some  other  arti¬ 
cles  ;  in  a  short  time  I  sold  a  horse  to  procure  some  cattle  and 
additional  furniture.  Stock  was  then  valuable  ;  the  range  on 
the  frontier  being  good,  by  keeping  them  therein,  they  were 
very  little  expense,  except  salt.  Shortly  after,  I  sold  one  of  my 
tracts  of  land,  taking  a  good  share  of  the  price  in  cattle.  I  now 
turned  my  attention  to  the  keeping  and  raising  of  stock,  so  that 


EEVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  2 1 5 

% 

I  frequently  had  beef  cattle  and  milch  cows  for  sale.  Cows 
and  calves  generally  brought  a  good  price,  for  new  settlers 
were  constantly  coming  in,  but  beef  seldom  brought  more  than 
three  or  three  and  a  half  cents  per  pound  ;  the  business  also 
suited  my  propensities.  As  soon  as  I  had  gathered  my  crop,  I 
rented  a  small  farm,  lying  immediately  on  the  river,  for  two 
years ;  my  own  land  lay  outside  of  the  settlement,  and  there 
was  danger  in  living  on  it,  the  Indians  still  being  hostile.— 
The  land  I  rented,  was  good,  and  a  young  man,  brother  to  my 
wife  assisted  me  in  cultivating  it.  There  was  an  excellent  fish¬ 
ery  belonging  to  the  place,  where  by  keeping  some  traps  in 
order,  there  was  an  abundance  of  fish  caught,  especially  in  the 
■shad  season.  There  were  iron  works,  or  rather  a  furnace,  that 
had  been  erected  about  twelve  miles  from  my  place,  which  made 
my  fishery  a  source  of  some  profit.  I  remained  here  two  years, 
my  brother-in-law  still  staying  with  me  ;  at  the  close  thereof,  I 
concluded  to  cultivate  my  own  land,  though  the  Indians  were 
still  somewhat  troublesome.  There  was  a  fort  situated  about  a 
mile  distant  from  the  place  where  I  intended  to  settle,  and  into 
that  I  concluded  to  go,  while  I  was  making  my  improvements. 
Accordingly,  on  the  22d  of  March,  I  moved  to  the  fort ;  most 
of  the  inhabitants  had  left  and  moved  out  to  their  farms,  but  no 
one  family  would  venture  to  stay  alone  at  night ;  they  generally 
worked  in  companies  in  the  day,  and  three  or  four  of  them 
would  collect  together  in  one  place  at  night.  There  were  four 
or  five  families  still  remaining  in  the  fort,  and  three  or  four 
more  that  lived  near,  would  go  to  their  homes  of  a  morning  and 
return  in  the  evening ;  there  were  spies  kept  out.  though  this 
precaution  was  sometimes  neglected,  when  all  things  appeared 
to  be  still.  The  proprietor  of  the  fort  had  a  small  farm  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  acres,  which  I  rented  ;  he  having  put  up  a 
mill  near  the  fort  without  having  any  hands  to  labor  for  him 
and  had  to  attend  the  mill  himself.  The  Indians  had  stolen  all 
the  horses  that  were  of  value  from  the  inhabitants — they  could 
not  keep  a  horse  of  any  value,  unless  well  secured  in  a  stable. 


116 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP  A 


I  had  taken  two  good  horses  with  me  and  in  order  to  keep  them 
safe,  made  use  of  a  house  inside  of  the  fort,  for  a  stable ;  we 
kept  up  no  sentinels  at  night,  not  being  apprehensive  of  dan¬ 
ger.  I  had  a  very  severe  dog  that  I  had  trained  to  the  woods, 
and  could  put  my  horse  or  any  other  property  in  his  charge 
and  he  would  defend  it  to  the  last  ;  he  made  no  friendship 
in  such  cases  with  any  man  though  he  knew  him  ever  so  well. 
I  have  frequently  killed  deer  that  I  was  unable  to  lift  on  my 
horse  ;  in  such  oases  I  had  nothing  to  do  only  take  out  the  en¬ 
trails,  give  them  to  my  dog,  drag  the  deer  to  the  root  of  a  tree 
and  give  him  charge  of  it,  and  leave  him  twenty -four  hours, 
without  returning  and  never,  in  one  instance,  have  I  failed  to 
find  all  safe,  without  the  least  breach  being  made,  and  I  have 
sometimes,  to  try  him,  sent  my  brother-in-law,  who  often  hunted 
with  me,  ahead,  the  dog  never  failed  to  defend  the  deer,  until  I 
.carne  up.  At  night,  when  I  shut  up  my  horses,  I  always  fed 
my  dog  at  the  stable  door,  where  he  would  stay  during  the 
night.  It  was  thought  by  many  that  some  unprincipled  white 
men  who  were  well  acquainted  with  the  country  had  some  in¬ 
tercourse  with  the  Indians  and  urged  them  on  to  steal  horses. 
Indeed  the  suspicion  was  so  strong  that  some  few  of  them  fell 
under  the  displeasure  of  Judge  Lynch, and  left  the  country,  and 
some  three  or  four  came  up  missing  and  were  no  more  heard  of. 
I  myself  saw  two  whom  the  evidence  was  so  strong  against — 
for  they  were  caught  with  plenty  of  property  in  their  posses¬ 
sion — that  they  were  subjected  to  no  further  trial  than  a  coun¬ 
cil  of  fifty  or  sixty  men  and  suspended  between  heaven  and 
earth,  at  a  cross-roads,  and  a  snug  hole  made  in  the  ground  for 
them  to  repose  in,  where  I  expect,  they  rest  in  quiet  to  this  day, 
unless  they  may  at  times,  wish  to  arrest  the  attention  of  some 
nightly  traveller,  when  the  moon  shines.  These  things  passed 
off  without  being  noticed  by  the  authorities.  One  moonlight 
night,  all  in  the  fort  were  in  bed  asleep,  and  no  apprehension  of 
danger,  my  dog  gave  the  alarm  and  some  one  in  the  fort  called 


1 

REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

out,  “There  was  some  one  at  the  stable  door.”  A  brother-in- 
law  of  mine  who  slept  in  the  same  house,  and  myself  both 
sprang  out  of  bed  and  caught  our  guns,  when  we  got  out  into 
the  square,  we  saw  some  one  ascending  the  steps  at  the  corner, 
by  the  sentinel7s  box,  but  before  we  would  shoot  they  passed 
over  they  pickets  and  descended  outside.  We  had  no  appre¬ 
hension  of  Indians,  thinking  an  Indian  would  not  attempt  to 
climb  over,  but  supposed  it  to  be  some  white  man,  and  we  would 
catch  him  with  dogs, — there  were  several  in  the  fort, — we  im¬ 
mediately  opened  one  of  the  gates,  let  out  the  dogs,  and  in  our 
shirts,  with  our  guns  in  our  hands  commenced  pursuit  •  the  dogs 
quickly  took  the  trail  and  at  a  short  distance,  under  some  large 
poplar  trees,  by  the  side  of  a  cow-pen,  where  a  number  of  cat¬ 
tle  were  penned,  they  began  to  bay  very  fiercely  ;  we  advanced 
encouraging  the  dogs  ;  when  we  had  got  within  less  than  fifty 
yards  of  the  place,  thinking  we  had  the  fellow  safe,  our  prog¬ 
ress  was  quickly  arrested  by  the  report  of  four  guns  fired  at  us 
in  quick  succession  from  the  shade  of  the  poplars  ;  we  retreat¬ 
ed  with  all  speed  into  the  fort  and  shut  the  gate,  and  then  run 
ning  up  into  the  block  house,  discharged  our  guns  towards  the 
place,  as  near  as  we  could  guess.  By  this  time  all  the  men  in 
the  fort  were  under  arms  and  at  their  places,  expecting  an  at¬ 
tack.  We  called  off  the  dogs  and  let  them  into  the  fort,  and 
kept  a  good  look-out  until  morning,  but  were  not  disturbed. 
Early  in  the  morning,  the  alarm  was  spread  through  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  and  before  night,  the  people  were  all  in  the  fort.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  day,  we  received  an  express  from  another 
fort,  about  eight  miles  distant  informing  us  that  a  party  of  In¬ 
dians — whom  we  supposed  to  be  the  same  who  made  their  ap¬ 
pearance  during  the  night — had  stolen  fourteen  horses,  and  that 
they  had  not  finished  collecting  the  horses  until  after  day-break 
in  the  morning,  and  were  discovered  by  a  man  that  had  been  up 
and  out  in  the  fort  early.  They  were  pursued,  overtaken,  and 
all  the  horses  recovered,  but  only  one  Indian  caught  or  hurt. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


BOY  ATTACKED  BY  THE  INDIANS— FIRST  SIN  OF  DRUNKENNESS— 

SPELL  OF  FEVER. 


llHERE  WAS  another  fort  not  more  than  two 
miles  distant  from  the  one  in  which  I  lived* 
A  river  was  between,  and  the  people  had  to 
cross  to  the  fort  to  get  meal.  A  young  lad  had 
come  over  to  the  mill ;  he  was  well  mounted 
and  had  a  large  bag  of  corn  on  his  horse ;  after  having 
his  corn  ground  he  started  home  and  when  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  mill,  in  the  river  swamp,  was  met  by  a 
party  of  Indians  ;  they  were  close  on  him  before  he  saw  them, 
and  advancing  on  him,  in  plain  English,  ordered  him  to  stop. 
It  seemed,  from  their  movements  that  they  did  not  wish  to  kill 
the  lad,  but  intended  to  make  him  a  prisoner,  and  to  take  the 
horse.  The  lad  was  active  and  a  good  rider  ;  he  made  a  shift 
and  on  the  first  motion  overbalanced  the  bag  and  letting  it  drop, 
put  his  horse  to  full  speed.  The  Indians  immediately  fired 
upon  and  pursued  him,  and  just  as  he  ascended  the  other  side 
of  the  river  fired  again,  but  without  effect.  We  heard  the 
report  of  the  guns  but  could  not  account  for  the  cause>  suppos* 
ing  it  to  be  at  the  other  fort ;  however,  we  were  soon  relieved 
by  the  appearance  of  some  men  from  the  other  fort.  The  In¬ 
dians  had  emptied  the  bag  and  disappeared  with  it ;  the  circum¬ 
stance  of  their  being  discovered,  in  all  probability,  had  pre¬ 
vented  them  from  attacking  our  fort.  This  caused  an  alarm 

118 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


119 


and  the  people  were  all  cooped  up  again  in  the  fort ;  the  panic 
did  not  last  long,  however,  for  in  a  few  days  they  all  returned 
to  their  homes.  This  often  reminded  me  of  the  speech  of  an 
old  friendly  Indian.  He  said — “  White  people  were  like  hogs, 
when  the  wolf  got  among  them  they  would  rally  and  fight  but 
as  soon  as  the  wolf  was  gone,  they  would  all  scatter  and  go 
to  rooting.”  After  this,  the  Indians  did  us  little  more  harm, 
except  stealing  a  few  horses  once  in  a  while,  which  practice 
they  continued  for  a  year  or  two. 

I  forgot  to  mention  in  its  proper  place  that  when  I  had 
been  married  almost  three  years,  in  the  winter  before  I  moved 
to  the  fort,  I  committed  my  first  sin  of  drunkenness.  I  will 
mention  the  circumstances  which  led  to  it,  in  order  to  show  how 
far  a  man  may  be  led  astray  without  any  intention,  by  falling 
into  bad  company.  Some  few  days  previous  I  had  exchanged 
horses  with  a  man,  and  he  was  to  give  me  a  cow  and  calf  to 
*boot.  We  lived  five  or  six  miles  apart ;  one  evening,  I  conclu¬ 
ded  to  go  over  and  stay  all  night  with  him  and  drive  home  my 
cow  in  the  morning.  I  did  so ;  the  man  told  me  the  cow  he 
designed  for  me  was  at  a  neighbor’s  house,  where  he  had  pur¬ 
chased  her  and  had  not  removed  her  ;  the  same  night,  another 
man  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  came  in  to  stay  all  night. 
The  man,  where  the  cow  was,  kept  liquor  to  sell ;  in  the  morn¬ 
ing,  the  other  man  that  stayed  all  night,  proposed  to  me,  that  if 
I  would  treat,  he  would  go  and  help  me  drive  my  cow  home,  as 
he  was  going  close  by  anyhow  ;  I  had  no  objection.  I  knew 
him  to  be  a  real  toper,  and  that  he  drank  hard  ;  I  was  fond  of 
liquor  myself,  and  had  been  always  accustomed  to  using  it,  but 
had  never  felt  its  intoxicating  influence.  I  had  been  taught  to 
believe  that  drunkenness  was  degrading,  especially  to  a  young 
man  ;  I  had  seen  many  men  drunk,  and  seen  the  evil  conse¬ 
quence,  and  thought  I  never  would  be  guilty  ;  would  to  God  I 
had  always  kept  the  resolution  !  But  I  am  too  late  making  the 
petition.  I  agreed  to  his  proposition,  and  off  we  went ;  I  came  to 


120 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


the  place,  the  cow  was  there  ready,  I  called  for  a  half  pint  of 
whiskey,  I  knew  nothing  about  drinking  grog.  The  whiskey 
was  set  out  in  a  small  decanter,  containing  the  quantity  * 
called  for,  we  soon  drank  it  off ;  I  prposed  starting.  “  No/7  said 
he,  “we  must  have  another  half-pint  he  called  for  it  and  it  was 
not  long  till  that  was  drank  also,  we  then  got  our  horses  and  I 
turned  out  my  cow  ready  for  a  start.  “Well/7  said  he  “ let’s  have 
a  stirrup  dram  and  we  will  be  off.77  I  called  for  it,  while  on  our 
horses  at  the  door,  “  Now/7  said  he  with  an  oath !  “  if  you  don7t 
drink  your  share  we  will  thumb  it  this  time/7  that  is  place  your 
thumb  against  the  bottle  and  drink  the  depth  of  your  thumb, 

I  complied  and  we  soon  drank  that  also.  The  day  was  cold 
and  some  light  snow  falling,  however,  we  started.  The  cow  was 
troublesome  and  the  woods  rough.  When  we  had  got  about 


✓ 


a  mile  she  took  advantage  of  the  rough  woods  and  running 
around  the  farm  got  back.  I  concluded  then  I  would  put  a 
clog  on  her,  we  let  her  in  the  lot,  caught  her,  and  put  on  the 
clog.  “Well/7  said  he  “  we  must  take  another  drink  and  try 
the  drive  again.77  I  knew  that  I  had  enough  and  objected,  but 
he  insisted  and  I  hated  to  back  out,  so  we  went  in  and  I  called 
for  another  half  pint.  “  Well/7  said  he,  “you  must  thumb  it 
again,  otherwise  ;  you  won’t  drink  your  share,  so  let  us  be  in  a 
hurry.77  I  did  not  altogether  relish  the  proposition,  but  had 
plenty  in  me  to  urge  me  on,  and  willing  to  be  in  a  hurry  thought 
I  would  risk  it ;  it  was  not  long  before  we  despatched  the 
other  half  pint.  Says  I,  “ Let’s  go.77  “Oh,  no/7  said  he,  “we 
can  take  one  more,  and  then  go  on  to  your  house  without  suffer¬ 
ing  from  the  cold.77  He  called  for  it,  and  commenced  on  it ;  I 
liacl  reduced  it  one  thumb,  and  sat  down  in  a  chair,  when  all  of 
a  sudden  everything  began  to  turn  round,  and  the  first  thing  I 
knew,  myself,  chair  and  all  were  down  in  the  floor.  I  was  per¬ 
fectly  sensible  of  all  around  me,  and  strove,  in  vain,  to  rise  ;  I 
could  not  stand.  The  man  of  the  house  happened  to  step  in 
just  then,  said,  “  Hey,  hey !  what’s  the  matter  here  ?  Collins 


•r 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


121 


down  kicking?  Well,  i  t?s  a  pity;  fori  expect  it  is  the  first  time 
he  was  ever  drunk  in  his  life,  and  I  will  take  care  of  him  ;  he 
shall  not  suffer.”  Although  drunk,  I  felt  ridiculous,  and  must 
have  had  that  appearance.  However,  the  man  got  me  up,  put 
me  to  bed,  and  covered  me  up ;  I  soon  fell  asleep.  This'  all 
happened  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  when  dinner  came 
on,  I  was  waked  up ;  my  companion  had  moved,  decamped,  was 
off.  The  family  insisted  on  my  eating  dinner,  but  I  was  too 
sick — took  a  drink  of  buttermilk,  and  went  to  bed  again  and 
would  have  been  gladly  out  of  sight  of  every  one  ;  I  was  al¬ 
most  ashamed  of  my  existence.  When  evening  came  on,  several 
men  of  my  acquaintance  came  in  to  take  a  drink  ;  wishing  to 
be  concealed,  I  covered  myself  over,  but  after  they  commenced 
drinking,  was  soon  discovered.  “Hey,”  said  one,  “  who  is  this 
you  have  covered  up  here?”  “  Oh,”  said  the  man,  “it  is  Col¬ 
lins,  poor  fellow  ;  he  is  a  little  sick.”  “  What  ?  Collins  is  not 
drunk?”  “I  believe  he  drank  a  little  too  much  this  cold  day, 
and  it  has  made  him  sick.”  All  expressed  their  wonder,  say¬ 
ing,  “  it  was  a  new  thing  ;  ”  but  to  my  mortification,  I  was  com¬ 
pelled  to  get  out  of  bed  and  set  awhile  with  them  ;  they  insisted 
upon  my  drinking  again  to  cure  myself  but  I  had  no  faith  in 
the  doctrine,  and  refused  to  comply.  I  staid  all  night,  feeling 
sick  and  ashamed.  The  man  of  the  house  insisted  that  I  should 
drink  some,  and  recommended  it  as  a  cure,  but  the  very  idea 
was  disgusting.  I  drove  home  my  cow  under  feelings  of  sore 
repentance.  I  then  renounced  the  use  of  whiskey  and  its 
charms  forever  ;  I  determined  it  should  never  have  any  more 
influence  over  me  ;  I  would  devote  myself  to  the  use  of  cold 
water,  during  life  ;  a  resolution  that  I  would  earnestly  recom¬ 
mend  to  every  young  man,  to  make  and  keep,  if  possible.  Ex¬ 
perience  induces  me  to  recommend  it,  and  I  think,  Solomon 
says,  “  Experience  teaches  wisdom.”  I  kept  my  resolution  for 
two  years  and  six  months,  when  I  was  tempted  to  taste  a  little 

peach  brandy  ;  it  seemed  palatable,  and  I  drank  it  on  some  oc- 
16 


122 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


casions,  but  very  moderately,  for  something  better  than  one? 
year  longer,  still  rejecting  whiskey.  At  length,  we  met  on 
friendly  terms  ;  I  found  her  to  be  an  intriguing  hussy  and 
ventured  once  more  to  taste  her,  and  there  has,  at  times,  been  a 
great  intimacy  between  us,  especially  of  late  years  ;  the  better 
the  acquaintance  the  stronger  the  attachment,  and  I  have  often 
sorely  repented  that  the  acquaintance  was  ever  revived  after 
our  first  separation,  and  if  I  could  have  any  influence  over 
mankind,  I  would  advise  them  to  avoid  any  thing  of  the  kind, 
not  but  that  I  believe  the  moderate  use  of  liquor  may  be  of 
benefit  at  times,  but  it  is  a  growing  evil,  and  hard  to  conquer, 
and  if  I  had  obeyed  the  dictates  of  my  own  reason,  I  should 
have  quit  it  long  ago. 

But  to  return  to  the  fort.  My  crop  of  corn  was  nearly 
ready  to  lay  by,  and  I  had  made  nothing  else  but  a  little  flax. 
In  the  latter  part  of  June,  I  took  the  first  hard  spell  of  fever,  I 
ever  had  in  my  life  •  true,  the  measles,  small-pox  and  fever  and 

ague  had  all  fallen  to  my  lot,  but  a  hard  attack  of  billious  fever 

♦ 

I  had  never  experienced  ;  more  than  likely  it  was  my  own  rash 
conduct  that'brought  it  on  ;  while  engaged  one  very  warm  day 
in  saving  my  flax,  near  three  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  there 
appeared  a  dark,  threatening  thunder  cloud  ;  I  worked  hard  and 
got  my  flax  all  safe  ;  while  suffering  with  thirst  and  foaming 
with  sweat  I  went  to  an  excellent  spring  near  the  fort,  Land 
without  hesitation,  drew  up  my  pantaloons  and  waded  into  the 
stream  just  below  the  spring,  and  washed  my  legs  and  feet,  not 
even  taking  the  precaution  of  wetting  my  head  ;  I  then  washed 
my  face  and  arms — still  standing  in  the  cold  water — until  I  felt 
quite  cool  and  pleasant ;  I  then  went  in  and  eat  dinner  and  felt 
no  harm  ;  in  the  course  of  about  an  hour,  I  began  to  feel  a  dull 
pain  in  the  head,  and  flushes  of  heat  ran  over  me  ;  I  still  did 
not  apprehend  any  serious  harm,  but  got  my  horse  and  gun  and 
concluded  to  drive  up  some  cattle  belonging  to  the  fort.  I  went 
but  a  short  distance  till  I  came  across  some  deer.  I  killed  one 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  \2?t 

and  it  being  in  hearing  of  the  cow  bell,  I  went  and  drove  them 
up.  By  the  time  I  got  to  the  fort,  I  was  not  able  to  go  after 
the  deer,  but  told  one  of  the  men  where  to  find  it,  and  he  went 
and  brought  it.  Before  night  I  was  completely  out  of  my  senses 
•and  contiuued  so  for  several  days  ;  there  was  no  doctor  to  be 
had  except  a  Dutch  quack,  who  used  simples  altogether  ;  they 
brought  him  to  see  me,  and  I  suppose  he  and  the  people  in  the 
^fort  did  their  best  for  me  ;  I  had  never  taken  any  strong  medi¬ 
cine' — there  was  no  such  thing  in  the  country,  nor  any  one  who 
•knew  how  to  administer  it,  had  it  been  at  hand  ;  I  was  perfect¬ 
ly  insensible  to  every  thing  that  passed  ;  in  this  situation  I  had 
lain,  for  fourteen  days,  when  at  length  they  procured  some  flies 
as  a  last  remedy,  and  applied  seven  blisters  to  me  ;  I  was  re¬ 
markably  hairy,  and  they  made  the  plasters  with  paste  in  order 
to  make  them  stick,  and  without  the  precaution  of  shaving  had 
put  them  on ;  in  removing  the  plasters,  they  had  to  cut  the  hair 
with  the  scissors  ;  I  still  remained  insensible  of  anything  that 
was  done,  and  they  were  nearly  done  removing  the  plasters 
when,  suddenly  as  if  awakening  out  of  a  dream,  I  felt  they  were 
hurting  me  and  complained.  When  I  awoke,  as  it  were,  I  dis¬ 
covered  that  I  had  not  strength  to  raise  my  head  off  the  pillow 
and  was  at  a  loss  to  know  what  the  matter  was.  I  saw  the 
house  crowded  with  people,  all  gazing  upon  me  with  great  at¬ 
tention.  I  was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton  and  no  power  to 
turn  or  raise  my  head,  and  knew  not  that  I  had  been  sick,  and 
was  entirely  at  a  loss  to  account  for  my  situation ;  some  of 
them  began  to  talk  to  me,  and  enquire  about  my  feelings,  but 
no  one  hinted  their  apprehensions,  as  [  afterwards  learned  they 
had  for  several  days,  hourly  expected  me  to  die  ;  indeed  after 
viewing  the  situation  I  was  in,  I  concluded  that  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  for  me  to  live,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether,  when  the  time 
does  come,  I  shall  be  any  better  reconciled  to  my  fate.  But 
God  had  reserved  me  for  further  scenes  for  I  am  strongly  in¬ 
clined  to  believe  that  the  way  of  man  is  marked  out  by 


124 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


infinite  wisdom,  and  that  he  cannot  turn  to  the  right,  or  to  the 
left  without  God  ;  hut  is  obliged  to  travel  to  the  end  of  his 
journey,  as  it  is  marked  out.  I  am  well  aware  that  it  is  a  doc¬ 
trine  that  many  people  do  not  believe,  and  that  they  would  pro¬ 
nounce  me  a  fool  or  a  bigot.  My  old  Dutch  quack  still  staid 
with  me  ;  I  asked  for  water,  and  he  would  not  let  me  have  any, 
for  it  appeared  that  all  this  time  I  had  been  prohibited  from 
drinking  cold  water,  and  had  nothing*  but  warm  teas  or  gruel 
to  drink;  and  had  eaten  nothing,  I  continued  in  this  way  three 
or  four  days  longer  ;  the  fever  had  left  me,  but  still  I  longed 
for  water,  and  could  not  obtain  it,  for  I  was  altogether  unable 
to  help  myself ;  I  continued  to  swallow  what  medicines  were 
offered  me  which  was  nothing  but  some  kind  of  drops  ;  at 
length  I  refused  to  take  any  more  medicines,  and  told  them 
I  must  have  some  water.  The  truth  is,  I  did  not  expect  to  live, 
and  thought  I  might  as  well  be  gratified  in  my  last  hours.  The 
doctor  flew  into  a  rage  and  said  he  would  leave,  and  that  I 
would  certainly  die.  Accordingly  he  went  off  in  a  bad  humor, 
pronouncing  me  a  dead  man.  A  brother-in-law  of  mine,  who 
was  living  in  the  fort,  always  insisted  on  letting  me  have  some 
water  ;  he  contrived  to  get  a  bottle  of  spirits  and  kept  it  con¬ 
cealed,  and  every  day,  three  or  four  times  he  would  contrive  to 
get  all  out  of  the  house,  even  my  wife  among  the  rest,  and 
would  give  me  about  two  spoonfuls  of  very  weak  grog.  It 
seemed  to  revive  me,  and  I  absolutely  thought  it  the  best  thing 
that  I  ever  tasted  ;  this  he  kept  a  secret  for  several  days,  and 
to  the  astonishment  of  all  I  began  to  mend  ;  though  much  re¬ 
duced,  my  voice  never  failed  ;  it  was  often  remarked  that  when 
at  the  lowest  they  could  hear  me  speak  all  over  the  fort.  I  was 
confined,  in  all,  about  ten  weeks  before  I  was  able  to  walk 
across  the  fort.  Although  apparently  well  and  hearty,  yet  my 
constitution  was  so  impaired  that  I  never  got  fairly  over  it  to 
this  day,  for  I  have  never  had  the  same  strength  and  action. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RETURN  TO  BUSINESS-DEATH  OF  MY  WIFE— SECOND  MARRIAGE. 


AYING  recovered,  I  set  about  building, 
and  improving  my  land  ;  however,  I  also 
commenced  work  at  the  tailoring  bRsi- 


ness,  and  by  that  means  could  make 


hands  to  work  on  my  place.  I  got  a 


cabin  put  up,  and  some  land  cleared,  during  the  winter,  and  on 


the  22d  of  March,  moved  to  the  place  and  then  thought  I  was 
settled  for  life.  I  busied  myself  in  selecting  and  planting  some 
of  the  best  fruit  trees  I  could  get.  In  the  preceding  winter 
people  had  moved  out  and  were  settling  the  country  rapidly ; 
it  so  happened  that  the  country  around  where  I  lived  was  set¬ 
tled  by  that  class  of  people  who  are  called  Presbyterians ;  they 
came  to  a  conclusion  to  build  a  church  and  get  a  preacher 
among  them  ;  they  accordingly  set  about  building  the  church 
and  made  application  to  the  Synod,  and  soon  had  a  preacher 
sent  on,  and  I  have  always  had  reason  to  believe  him  a  good 
man.  In  arranging  the  different  departments  of  church  gov¬ 
ernment,  I  was  solicited  to  conduct  the  psalmody  or  music  of 
the  church,  and  besides  was  nominated  as  one  of  the  elders. 
It  was  true  I  had  thrown  in  my  share  for  building  the  church, 
and  was  also  subscribing  for  the  support  of  the  preacher,  and 
had  no  objection  to  taking  part  in  the  music,  but  when  it  came 


125 


126 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


to  the  eldership,  I  could  not  stand  the  pull — I  could  not  sub¬ 
scribe  to  all  the  articles  of  their  creed,  and  some  of  their  cere¬ 
monials  I  thought  altogether  useless,  and  to  act  apart  I  did  not 
believe  to  be  right,  would  be  gross  hypocrisy,  and  so  the  office 
was  declined.  There  was  a  considerable  number  of  young 
people  belonging  to  the  congregation,  and  I  taught  a  singing 
school  in  the  church.  I  taught  every  Saturday,  and  as  we  only 
had  half  the  time  of  the  preacher,  we  met  every  other  Sunday 
at  an  early  hour,  and  sung  until  the  hour  of  preaching ;  on 
these  occasions,  a  number  of  married  men  and  women  attended 
and  by  this  means,  almost  the  whole  of  the  society  became  good 
singers,  and  were  able  to  carry  all  the  parts  of  music  in  the 
church.  I  have  often  thought  there  was  nothing  more  beautiful 
in  church  than  good  singing.  In  the  mean  time  I  had  joined 
in  with  two  of  the  most  celebrated  singers  in  the  country,  one 
by  the  name  of  Patterson,  and  the  other  by  the  name  of  Neb- 
lack  ;  they  were  both  young,  or  rather  single  men  and  employ¬ 
ed  themselves  almost  altogether  in  teaching  music  through  the 
country.  We  selected  a  number  of  tunes  from  different  authors, 
and  called  them  Patterson's  Selection.  We  made  up  funds  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  printing,  and  Patterson  went  on  to  Phil¬ 
adelphia  to  superintend  the  printing  and  bring  on  a  sufficient 
number  of  books  to  enable  us  to  supply  all  our  schools  with 
the  same  kind  at  fifty  cents  per  book.  I  continued  the  business 
nearly  four  years,  by  which  means  I  realized  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  I  kept  a  small  farm  and  still  at¬ 
tended  to  my  stock,  for  the  range  was  still  good  in  the  imme¬ 
diate  neighborhood.  At  this  period  I  was  placed  in  a  happy 
situation — was  perfectly  at  peace  with  all  men,  for  I  lived 
among  friendly,  peaceable  people,  and  if  I  had  an  enemy  on  the 
earth  I  did  not  know  it.  As  to  property,  I  had  none  to 
boast  of,  but  I  had  as  much  as  I  craved  ;  I  owed  no  man 
anything,  and  if  I  had  a  use  for  a  little  money,  I  had  it  without 
applying  to  any  man,  and  had  a  few  dollars  to  spare  my  friends 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


in  case  of  need.  There  was  one  fortunate  circumstance  that 
attended  ine  ;  my  wife  had  no  children,  and  I  was  not  encum¬ 
bered  with  a  growing  family;  however,  not  many  men  would 
agree  with  me  on  the  subject  of  its  being  fortunate  ;  it  is  nev¬ 
ertheless  true.  I  had  no  particular  desire  to  be  plagued  with 
children,  until  they  could  run  about  and  talk,  and  then  they  be¬ 
came  favorites,  and  as  things  turned  out,  I  have  often  since  con¬ 
sidered  it  a  fortunate  circumstance. 

When  I  reflect,  alas,  where  have  all  these  happy  scenes 
fled  ?  They  have  vanished  like  the  morning  dew,  and  have 
become  exactly  the  reverse — are  only  known  by  their  dim  shad¬ 
ows  as  I  stroll  about  the  haunts  of  old  memories.  I  have  often 
heard  people  commenting  upon  their  misfortunes,  losses,  and 
disappointments,  and  thought  it  mere  human  weakness, — whioh 
perhaps  was  correct, — but,  that  I  would  never  thus  act ;  I  have 
long  since,  by  experience,  found  myself  subject  to  the  same 
error,  still  I  ought  rather  to  be  thankful  to  that  divine  and 
mysterious  power  that  led  me  safe  through  all  the  shifting 
scenes  of  life  to  the  present  time. 

I  had  lived  on  my  place  near  three  years there  was  then 
a  great  stir  among  the  people  about  moving  to  what  was  then 
called  the  Western  country  :  viz.,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio 
and  Indiana.  A  number  of  my  friends  and  relations,  assembled 
together  with  myself,  after  holding  a  consultation,,  concluded  to 
form  a  company  and  all  settle  near  one  place,  and  to  that  end 
I  sold  all  my  land  and  stock  and  purchased  a  small  negro,  and 
got  all 'things  ready  for  a  move.  As  above  stated,  we  agreed 
to  go  in  a  company,  as  it  was  not  safe  for  any  one  family  to  go 
across  such  a  large  scope  of  Indian  country.  -Before  the  ar¬ 
rangements  could  be  made,  spring  came  on,  and  we  concluded 
to  put  off  the  movement  until  fall.  This  caused  me  to  labor 
under  some  disadvantages.  I  had  more  horses  than  I  had  pres* 
ent  use  for,  and  was  obliged  to  be  at  some  expense  to  keep  them 
up  ;  I  rented  part  of  a  farm,  in  order  to  make  corn  to  fatten 


123 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


my  horses  in  the  fall.  I  gave  up  my  place,  and  on  the  22d  day 
of  March,  moved  off  and  left  it,  having  staid  three  years  to  a 
day.  All  this  time  I  had  continued  to  keep  up  my  singing  school. 
When  fall  came  and  the  preparations  were  completed  for  the 
company  to  move,  my  wife  was  taken  sick  and  was  unable  to 
travel,  and  after  waiting  a  few  weeks  and  seeing  no  sign  of  her 
recovery,  they  went  on  and  left  me.  I  employed  three  or  four 
of  the  most  eminent  physicians  in  the  country  to  attend  on  her  : 
viz.,  Gilmore  &  Holt,  of  Ebcrton,  and  Philipps  of  Lexington, 
but  all  in  vain  ;  her  illness  increased  and  after  lingering  about 
five  months,  tbe  scene  closed  in  death,  on  the  27th  day  of  Jan* 
nary,  1801. 

After  the  death  of  my  wife,  I  disposed  of  what  little  fur* 
ifiture  I  had  in  my  house  in  rather  a  careless  manner,  without 
deriving  that  benefit  which  1  ought  to  have  had  ;  at  that  time  I 
had  not  the  most  distant  idea  of  ever  attempting  to  keep  house, 
or  again  wanting  any  furniture.  I  thought  of  leaving  the 
country  and  pushing  my  fortune  somewhere  else  ;  I  had  no  in¬ 
cumbrance  and  thought  it  would  then  be  easy  to  go  to  any 
place  I  might  wish,  having  no  particular  place  in  view. 

I  had  an  idea  then,  in  which  I  afterwards  found  I  was  en¬ 
tirely  mistaken.  I  had  heard  in  my  youth,  a  great  many  re¬ 
marks  made  among  females  about  widowers,  from  which  I  con¬ 
cluded  that  men  of  that  class  had  to  stand  in  the  back -ground, 
and  this  made  me  determine  never  to  become  a  candidate  for  any 


no  use  for  more  than  one,  and  horses  were  not  then  ready  sale 
for  money  ;  in  order  to  get  clear  of  some  of  my  horses,  I  bought  : 
a  four  hundred  dollar  horse,  and  paid  for  it  mostly  in  horse-  j 
flesh  ;  by  this  means,  I  got  clear  of  three  of  my  horses  for  one. 

I  kept  that  horse  lour  years  and  sold  him  for  the  same  price  I 
paid  for  him.  I  next  got  clear  of  the  balance  of  my  horses  on 
the  best  terms  possible.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months' I  re¬ 
sumed  the  business  of  teaching  music  again  ;  teaching  singing 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER..  129 

then  was  very  popular,  and  those  two  men  of  whom  I  haver 
spoken,  Neblack  and  Patterson,  both  being  single  men,  were 
engaged  in  the  business  pretty  extensively.  I  joined  in  with 
them  and  we  formed  a  kind  of  circuit  ;  we  attended  the  differ- 
ent  schools,  one  after  another,  in  our  turns  ;  I  had,  for  the 
most  part,  to  attend  to  the  schools  three  days  in  each  week,  and 
so  with  the  others  •  this  business  I  attended  to  for  something 
more  than  a  year.  In  order  to  keep  myself  employed  and  also 
to  make  something,  I  engaged  in  another  business.  There  was 
a  Dutch  potter  living  in  the  neighborhood  who  followed  the 
business  of  making  what  was  called  crockery-ware.  The 
neighbors  around  had  gotmostlv  furnished,  so  that  it  was  not  of 
very  ready  sale,  close  around  him  ;  lie  agreed,  by  my  taking  a 
4 quantity,  to  supply  me  at  a  reduced  price,  and  I  took  it  to  a 
convenient  distance  where  I  could  make  sale  ;  by  this  means,  I 
was  making  a  small  profit.  I  was  extremely  cautious  in  trying 
to  initiate  myself  into  female  society  ;  indeed  I  never  had  the* 
same  slight,  or  the  same  assurance  which  I  thought  some  men 
possessed  in  that  respect,  although,  1  believe  I  respect  the  sex 
as  much  as  most  men  ;  I  never  was  very  intrusive.  At  length, 
when  I  began  to  venture,  I  soon  found  some  of  my  ideas  were 
incorrect,  and  that  there  was  more  owing  to  circumstances  than 
to  any  real  antipathy  they  had  to  the  name  of  widower, — per¬ 
haps  the  circumstances  of  a  young  lady  becoming  a  step-mother, 
might  sometimes  place  her  in  an  awkward  situation,  and  be  a 
good  objection  to  her  venturing.  On  my  part  there  was  no 
difficulty  of  the  kind  in  the  way  ;  I  met  with  no  trouble  or  diffi¬ 
culty  about  any  house  that  I  frequented  or  among  any  people 
with  whom  I  associated,  yet  I  did  not  feel  as  though  I  was  oc¬ 
cupying  my  right  place ;  I  had  been  accustomed  to  having  the 
control  of  a  house,  but  now  I  did  not  feel  myself  at  liberty,  but 
was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  control  of  others,  feelings  that 
never  had  affected  me  previous  to  my  first  marriage.  I  was 

for  sometime  halting  between  two  opinions,  and  not  able  to  de- 

17 


130 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


cide,  sometimes  inclined  to  leave  that  part  of  the  country  anel 
settle  myself  down  in  some  way  and  become  stationary  ;  at 
times  I  was  employed  in  reading  the  Bible  a  good  deal — a  book 
by  the  way,  that  I  had  often  read,  in  my  life.  I  also  consulted 
the  opinion  of  several  writers  on  the  subject  of  religion.  I 
sometimes  thought  of  dropping  every  thing  else,  and  turning 
my  attention  to  the  study  of  divinity  ;  on  this  subject  I  had 
several*conferences  with  our  clergyman,  Mr.  Newton,  a  man 
who  I  have  always  thought  to  be  a  pious  Christian.  This  preach¬ 
er  encouraged  me  to  pursue  the  design,  promising  to  render  me 
every  assistance  in  his  power.  I  spent  some  time  in  consulting 
and  comparing  the  creeds  of  different  denominations  and  found 
upon  the  whole,  that  I  could  not  in  every  particular  agree  with 
either  party,  but  must  differ  in  some  respects  from  the  whole., 

% 

and  under  these  views,  to  join  in  with  any  particular  sect  would 
subject  me  to  act  the  hypocrite,  and  I  thought  hypocrisy  the 
last  thing  a  man  ought  to  resort  to,  at  least  in  religious  mat¬ 
ters,  and  to  become  a  schismatic  in  the  church,  or  stand  alone 
as  a  reformer,  required  a  man  of  greater  powers  of  persuasion 
and  criticism  than  fell  to  my  share,  and  to  avoid  exposing  my¬ 
self  to  the  public  in  attempting  a  thing  for  which  I  was  not  fit. 

I  gave  up  the  idea,  and  concluded  to  fall  upon  some  other  plan  ; 

I  had  in  this  time  almost  decided  that  I  would  marry  again,  if 
I  could,  on  fair  principles,  and  had  been  rather  trying  to  make 
some  selections.  One  day  in  the  summer  of  1802,  when  I  was 
at  one  of  my  out-posts,  or  repositories  of  crockery- ware,  I  was 
sitting  in  the  gallery  with  a  book  in  my  hand  ;  I  saw  two  wo¬ 
men  come  riding  up;  I  rose,  went  to  the  gate,  and  conducted 
the  two  ladies  in  ;  one  was  a  married  lady  whom  I  had  known 

for  several  years,  the  other  appeared  to  be  a  young  lady  wThom 

•» 

I  never  saw;  I  knew  the  married  lady  to  be  fond  of  a  joke 
and  after  a  short  conversation, — “  Well,”  said  I,  “Mrs.  R..  you 
have  not  been  polite  enough  to  make  me  acquainted  with  your 
companion  ;  being  a  widower,  you  know  and  rather  on  the  look- 


131 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

out  for  a  wife,  I  don’t  like  to  be  neglected  by  my  friends.”  “I 
really  beg  pardon,  sir,  but  it  is  not  too  late;  this,  sir,  is  Miss 
Anderson.  Miss  Anderson,  Mr.  Collins.”  I  saw  the  young 
lady  would  gladly  have  avoided  the  introduction,  especially  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  conducted.  The  old  lady  of  the  house 
who  had  known  me  for  several  years,  and  with  whom  I  happen¬ 
ed  to  be  a  great  favorite,  joined  in  with  Mrs.  R - ,  and  they 

were  not  sparing  on  their  young  friend,  Miss  Anderson,  with 
their  jokes.  I  saw  her  cringe  several  times,  as  if  she  would 
willingly  shrink  from  the  subject,  but  it  -  would  seem  like 
women  have  no  mercy  on  each  other,  when  they  take  a  notion. 

After  some  interval,  Mrs.  R - ,  as  if  determined  to  torture 

the  feelings  of  her  young  companion,  again  commenced.  “  W ell,” 
said  she,  “Mr.  Collins,  1  want  to  get  some  of  your  crockery-ware, 
and  have  thought  of  a  plan  by  which  l  ean  pay  you  very  easily, 
unless  it  be  indeed  the  trouble  of  telling  a  few  lies.  The  prop¬ 
osition  is  this — I  will  get  Mrs.  P- - ,  here  to  join  me ;  we 

will  throw  our  influence  together  in  your  favor  with  this  young 
lady  ;  between  us,  we  can  do  something  capital  :  you  shall  be 
bound  to  do  your  part,  and  if  you  succeed  you  shall  not  charge 
me  for  the  crockery-ware — if  you  fail  I  am  bound  to  pay  you.” 
I  told  her  I  would  certainly  do  my  duty,  as  far  as  permission 
went  ;  that  all  1  wished  of  them  was  to  extend  their  friendship 
as  far  as  they  could,  without  committing  their  own  consciences; 
if  I  was  fortunate,  all  the  ware  1  had  was  at  their  service,  and 
more  if  required,  but  in  case  of  failure,  they  should  be  charge¬ 
able  with  all  the  trouble  that  I  was  at  in  making  the  fruitless 
•  attempt.  The  terms  were  assented  to  by  all  but  the  third  party, 
who  was  altogether  silent,  and  no  doubt  glad  when  it  stopped  ; 

however,  Mrs.#R - ,  picked  out  her  ware  and  paid  me  for  it 

without  waiting  for  the  result.  The  thing  passed  off  and  the  two 
women  departed.  After  they  were  gone,  “  Well,”  said  I  to  Mrs. 

P - -  “ how  do  you  like  my  wife?”  “  Your  wife ? ”  says  she. 

4‘  Yes,  madam,  are  you  not  aware  that  was  my  wife  with  Mrs. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP  A 


132 

E, - ?  ”  “ No  indeed/7  said  she,  “but  wife  or  not,  1  think 

very  highly  of  her,  and  do  not  think  you  could  get  a  better 

one.”  After  awhile  Mr.  P- -  came  in  who  had  been  absent. 

“  Well,”  said  I  to  him,  “  Mr,  P - ,  my  wife  has  been  here  to 

see  me  to-day.  I  wish  you  had  been  here  to  see  us  meet.” 
•“  Your  wife  indeed  !  I  should  liked  to  have  seen  her  very  much, 
for  I  would  like  to  know  what  kind  of  a  looking  person  she  is.” 
“  Well,  I  will  describe  her  ;  perhaps  you  may  see  her  some  of 
these  days  and  then  you  can  tell  me  how  you  like  her  ;  if  you 
should  see  a  young. woman  a  little  inclined  to  be  dark  skinned, 
with  very  black  hair  and  a  speck  on  one  of  her  front  teeth,  mark 
well — that  is  her.”  “  Oh,  well,  if  that  is  the  description,”  said 
he,  “  I  think  I  saw  her  not  long  since,  but  are  you  sure  that  she 
is  your  wife  ?  ”  “  Undoubtedly  sir,  I  always  knew  my  wife  had 

to  come  to  me,  without  me  being  at  the  trouble  of  hunting  her 
up.”  “Ah  !”  said  he,  “that  is  a  girl  who  lias  a  little  age  and 
experience  on  her  side ;  she  is  none  of  your  young  flirts  and  not 
easily  trapped.”  I  told  him  I  had  no  notion  to  intermarry 
among  children  ;  I  thought  it  a  bad  plan  and  all  the  chance  was 

to  marry  an  old  girl  or  a  widow.  “  Well,”  said  Mr.  P- - ,  “if 

you  make  an  attempt  you  will  meet  with  some  difficulties  ;  in 
the  first  place  her  father  is  a  very  crabbed  old  fellow  ;  he  will 
not  suffer  every  one  to  keep  company  with  his  daughter  and  if 
he  is  opposed  to  you,  you  will  stand  a  bad  chance  ;  next,  I 
know  more  than  one,  who  wants  that  girl,  and  you  will  meet 
with  opposition,  and  she  is  hard  to  please,  herself ;  there  is  one 

of  my  workmen  who  is  now  trying  ;  that  is  Eh - ,  and  Mr. 

Tanottrer,  and  there  is  a  namesake  of  vours  ;  that  would  be 
three  against  you ;  however,  I  don’t  think  you  need  dread  but 

one,  that  is  H - ,  and  he  is  not  deeply  in  the  old  man’s  good 

graces.”  “Oh,”  said  the  old  lady,  “you  need  not  try  to  scare 
Mr.  Collins,  for  I  would  almost  warrant  him  success  if  he  will 
fry  in  earnest.”  “  Ah,”  said  I,  “  I  shall  be  in  no  great  hurry 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


133 

bat  will  wait  to  see  bow  the  weather  breaks-  •  but  she  is  certainly 
to  be  my  wife  ;  that  is  a  settled  point.”  So  the  conversation 
broke  off  for  the  present,  with  a  laugh,  no  one,  I  presume,  think¬ 
ing  anything  more  of  it  than  a  joke,  for  I  am  sure  I  thought 
nothing  else. 

I  saw  the  same  young  woman  at  church,  once  or  twice,  not 

long  after,  and  from  previous  observations,  took  some  notice  of 

her.  A  few  weeks  after,  she  came  back  to  the  same  place,  in 

company  with  a  married  lady,  the  wife  of  a  Baptist  preacher. 

This  time,  as  it  happened,  I  had  the  chance  of  forming  a  slight 

acquaintance  with  her  •  at  the  time,  there  were  three  or 

four  mechanics  at  work  at  the  place,  and  among  them  was  Mr. 

H—  — ,  with  whom  I  had  been  threatened  as  an  opponent.  I 

concluded  to  notice  the  movements  of  the  parties  to  ascertain 

how  they  stood  towards  each  other.  I  fancied  there  was  a  lit- 
%! 

tie  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  man,  but  if  there  was  any  in  the 
woman,  she  had  a  better  art  of  hiding  it.  After  dinner,  I  de¬ 
termined  to  put  his  feelings  a  little  to  the  test  and  take  my 
observation.  Being  well  acquainted  with  the  head  workman4 

but  not  so  with  Mr.  II - ,  I  went  out  to  the  work  bench  and 

commenced  conversation.  After  some  time  thus  spent,  I  said  : 

“  Mr.  B - ,  what  do  you  think  of  my  wife  on  an  average  ?” — • 

“  Your  wife?  I  am  unable  to  decide,  until  made  acquainted  with 
her.”  “  Are  you  not  aware  that  is  my  wife  in  company  with 
your  sister-in-law?”  “No,  indeed!  neither  do  I  know  it  now, 
only  from  your  information  ;  however,  if  you  say  so,  it  is  not  for 
me  to  dispute  it.  But,”  he  continued,  “  if  you  go  to  setting  up 

such  claims,  you  will  get  yourself  into  business,  for  Mr.  H - 

has  already  put  in  a  claim.”  “  Had  I  known  this  earlier,”  was 
my  reply,  “  I  would  not  have  interfered  ;  but,  having  notified 
her  of  mv  intentions,  it  will  not  do  for  me  to  reeecle,  or  she  will 
brand  me  with  cowardice  ;  as  my  hand  is  to  the  plow,  I  cannot 

look  back  ;  so  Mr.  H - will  have  the  hardest  scuffle  he  ever 

had.”  I  began  to  think  of  giving  her  a  call  and  trying  to  form 


134 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP  A 


nn  acquaintance,  but  thought  it  not  prudent  to  be  in  haste,  and 
had  a  wish  that  chance,  rather  than  design,  should  bring  about 
a  meeting  ■;  it  was  not  long  till  it  happened.  There  was  a  wed¬ 
ding  to  take  place  in  the  neighborhood,  to  which,  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  people  had  beep  invited.  The  custom  then  was,  for  the 
guests  to  meet  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  at  the  residence  of 
the  bride,  the  ceremony  to  take  place  about  twelve  o’clock,  and 
the  evening  to  be  spent  in  amusement.  My  permanent  residence 
at  the  time,  was  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  from  the  place,  but  I 
determined  to  be  at  the  wedding.  There  was  a  man  named 
Crow  that  lived  close  neighbor  to  my  boarding  place,  with 
•  whom  I  was  very  familiar  ;  he  was  a  man  that  traded  a  good 
deal  ;  he  had  business  all  through  the  country  and  knew  every 
one.  I  had  some  business  also,  with  several,  that  were  invited; 
it  was  agreed  between  us,  that  we  would  go  to  the  wedding,  as 
if  it  were  by  accident,  in  order  to  save  some  riding.  The  day 
came  and  we  went,  allowing  time  for  the  company  to  gather 
before  we  got  there.  When  we  got  in  sight  of  the  place,  we 
saw  some  half  dozen  ladies  walking  along  the  road,  meeting  us; 
it  happened  to  be  the  bride  and  her  suite.  After  we  had  passed, 
I  said  to  my  companion  :  “  Crow,  what  do  you  think  of  my 
wife?”  “Was  your  wife  in  that  company?”  he  replied.  “  Cer¬ 
tainly  ;  did  you  notice  the  one  that  walked  with  the  bride?” — 
“  Yes!  do  you  call  her  your  wife  ?”  “  I  certainly  do  !’  “  How 

came  you  by  that  knowledge — did  you  ever  ask  her?”  “  I  never 
did,  but  am  aware  of  it  by  the  cut  of  her  eye,  and  it  is  my  in¬ 
tention  to  put  the  question  this  day.”  He  replied  :  “  I  will  bet 
you  a  bottle  of  wine  you  don’t  speak  to  her  on  the  subject ;  nay 
more,  will  stake  the  bottle  that  you  don’t  say  a  word  to  her  to¬ 
day  on  any  subject.”  “  Enough  said  1  pay  good  attention,  for  I 
shall  claim  the  wine.” 

We  were  well  received  by  the  old  gentleman  of  the  house, 
and  spent  the  evening  with  the  company.  After  the  ceremony 
was  over  and  during  the  amusements  of  the  evening,  1  happened 


REVOLUTIONARY  "SOLDIER’.  335 

to  obtain  the  desired  interview.  Crow  and  myself  went  home* 

in  the  evening  with  Mr.  P - ,  and  stayed  all  night.  The  next 

morning  I  demanded  of  Crow  my  bottle  of  wine  ;  in  order  to- 

establish  it,  it  was  necessary  to  call  on"  Mrs.  P - ,  whose  tes*- 

timonv  in  my  favor  was  stronger  than  I  believed  it  to  be.  For 
want  of  the  wine  being  convenient,  a  dollar  bowl  of  toddy  for 
the  company  had  to  satisfy  the  demand.  At  this  time,  my  mind- 
on  the  subject  of  marrying  was  altogether  undecided,  although 
report  had  me  married  to  some  one  or  other  every  week  or  two. 
So  fond  are  people  of  talking,  that  if  a  man  and  woman  are 
seen  talking  together,  whether  they  ever  said  a  word  on  the 
subject  or  not,  they  certainly  are  going  to  marry.  Some  time 
after,  I  happened  in  passing,  to  call  at  the  house  where  the  wed¬ 
ding  had  been,  and  altogether  unexpected  to  me,  when  I  enter¬ 
ed,  behold !  there  sat  Mrs.  Anderson  in  company  with  the  late 
bride.  Before  I  left  1  had  what  might  be  called  merelv  an  off- 
hand  conversation  ;  I  gave  her  to  understand  that  I  wished  to 

1 

visit  her  father’s  house  ;  there  seemed  to  be  no  objection  ;  with¬ 
out  any  definite  time,  I  told  her  that  I  should  make  free  to  do 
so.  On  such  occasions  I  was  always  opposed  to  setting  any 
particular  time,  and  if  I  did  was  always  sure  to  fail — designedly 
— and  always  sure  to  visit  a  day  or  two  sooner  or  later  ;  this 
I  did  to  see  whether  they  would  fret  or  get  angry  at  being  dis¬ 
appointed,  or  accuse  a  fellow  of  telling  lies  designedly,  and  if 
they  seemed  to  be  too  particular,  I  determined  to  quit  at  once. 
The  father  of  Miss  Anderson,  I  had  seen  a  few  times,  but  never 
at  his  own  house  ;  I  had  understood  him  to  be  a  singular  char¬ 
acter,  which  I  afterwards  found  to  be  a  fact  ;  her  mother  I  had 
seen  also,  but  was  unacquainted  with  her  ;  I  had  a  slight  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  one  or  two  of  her  sisters,  younger  than  herself, 
and  she  had  a  brother  who  had  a  family  and  lived  close  by  her 
father,  with  whom  I  had  formed  some  acquaintance.  Ten  or 
or  twelve  days  had  passed  after  I  had  seen  her  last,  when  I 
concluded  to  give  her  a  call ;  to  that  end  I  mounted  my  horse 

H  ; 

■f 

If  » 


136 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


and  put  off ;  I  made  it  late  in  the  evening  when  1  rode  up  to 
the  old  gentleman’s.  He  met  me  very  politely,  and  invited  me 
in  ;  after  conversing  a  short  time,  the  old  man  spoke  to  his  son, 
a  lad,  and  told  him  to  have  my  horse  stripped  and  put  away. 
I  had  looked  around  and  could  see  nothing  of  the  old  lady,  nor 
any  of  her  daughters,  only  some  of  the  younger  ones,  and  ob¬ 
jected  to  my  horse  being  put  away,  saying  I  would  ride  over  to 
Mr.  P — ■ — ;s.  “  Oh,  no,”  said  he  “  it  is  late  ;  you  must  stay  all 

night  ’  my  wife  and  daughters  are  gone  to  church  and  will  be 
home  directly.  I  am  looking  for  them  every  minute  ;  strip  the 
horse  Tommy,  and  have  him  put  away.” 

I  suspected  from  the  old  man’s  manner,  that  he  was  aware 
of  my  business  ;  in  a  short  time,  the  old  lady  and  her  daughters 
came  home  in  company  with  two  young  men  :  one  proved  to  be 

the  man  with  whom  Mrs.  P - had  threatened  me  the  first  time 

that  we  were  joking  on  the  subject ;  the  other  man  was  paying 
his  attention  to  one  of  the  sisters,  whom  he  afterwards  married. 
Whether  through  feelings  of  politeness,  or  my  being  an  entire 
stranger,  no  reason  was  there  for  me  to  complain  of  the  recep¬ 
tion  that  was  given  me.  The  sister  and  her  partner  seemed  to 
interest  themselves  in  my  favor  and  take  a  pleasure  in  mortify¬ 
ing  my  rival’s  feelings.  Never  wishing  to  be  tedious  on  such 
occasions,  nor  staying  till  people  became  tired,  I  started  off 
pretty  soon  the  next  morning.  I  continued  to  visit  the  house 
occasionally  for  some  time,,  until  it  seemed  both  our  minds  were 
made  up  to  get  married.  At  length,  to  wind  up  the  affair,  I 
called  one  evening  to  set  a  time,  and  consult  with  Miss  Ander¬ 
son.  She  expressed  a  wish  to  postpone  the  business.  For 
some  length  of  time  I  opposed  the  motion,  and  insisted  on  de¬ 
ciding  at  once  ;  I  told  her  to  think  of  it  until  morning,  and 
then  decide  ;  she  professed  to  be  of  the  same  mind  ;  I  deter¬ 
mined  to  use  no  persuasion,  and  took  up  an  idea,  which  I  after¬ 
wards  found  to  be  incorrect,  but  knew  no  better  at  the  time. 
I  thought  she  had  a  notion  of  playing  the  coquette,  which  in 


EVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  137, 

fact  was  measurably  so  but  she  did  not  think  of  carrying  it  so> 
far,  neither  did  she  suspect  that  I  would  cut  the  matter  so  short. 
I  told  her  I  would  drop  the  subject  altogether,  and  the  conver¬ 
sation  stopped  for  breakfast.  It  would  seem  she  thought  I 
would  take  up  the  subject  after  breakfast  and  she  would  explain, 
but  in  that  she  was  mistaken.  Immediately  after  breakfast  I 
took  leave  and  departed  ;  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  calling  at 
her  brother’s,  which  was  but  a  few  hundred  yards  off,  and  stay¬ 
ing  an  hour  or  two.  She  concluded  I  would  stop  as  usual,  and 
walk  over,  and  as  it  were,  by  accident,  we  would  fall  in  com¬ 
pany.  However,  this  is  her  own  statement,  afterwards,  and  I 
have  no  reason  to  doubt  it  ;  but  when  she  got  there,  I  was  gone; 
she  thought  the  match  broken  off.  Mr.  Crow,  of  whom  I  have 
before  spoken,  was  making  arrangements  to  remove  to  the  State 
of  Indiana  and  he  seemed  to  be  anxious  that  I  should  go  with 
him.  Several  of  my  friends  and  relatives  were  gone  there 
already,  and  I  was  somewhat  inclined  to  go.  I  had  but  few 
arrangements  to  make,  and  could  be  ready  at  any  time ;  while 
Crow  was  arranging  his  business,  I  was  dallying  about,  doing 
little  or  nothing.  So  things  went  on  about  three  months  with 
Miss  Anderson,  when  one  day,  I  happening  in  the  neighborhood 
of  her  father,  met  with  a  young  man,  whom  I  have  mentioned 
was  courting  her  sister.  He  began  to  insist  on  me  to  call  and 
see  Miss  Anderson  •  I  objected,  and  told  him  I  never  intended 
to  name  the  subject  again.  He  told  me  that  I  had  taken  a 
wrong  idea ;  that  I  was  altogether  mistaken ;  that  he  knew 
how  matters  stood,  and  that  if  I  called,  no  doubt  but  all  mat¬ 
ters  would  be  set  right ;  I  declined  going  with  him  at  the  time, 
but  promised  to  meet  him  at  the  same  place,  on  a  certain  day 
in  the  next  week  ;  that  I  would  think  on  the  subject.  I  met  him 
at  the  time  and  place,  and  went ;  the  subject  was  resumed  and 
all  things  soon  settled  and  we  agreed  to  marry  in  order  to  avoid 
any  further  remarks,  and  on  the  31st,  or  last  day  of  March, 
1803,  we  were  married,  I  having  lived  a  widower  two  years, 

two  months  and  two  days. 

«* 

18 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


HORSE  PURCHASE.— A  STRANGE  DISEASE. 


BOUGHT  a  small  farm  in  the  neighborhood 
of  where  I  lived  before,  and  where  I  had  once 
more  settled,  as  I  thought,  for  life,  had  once 
more  married  a  poor  girl,  and  was  obliged  to 
work.  I  saw  the  error  of  parting  with  what 
little  furniture  I  formerly  possessed,  without 
remuneration.  I  now  needed  it  and  more 
too,  and  was  obliged  to  pay  a  high  price  for  every 
article  required.  Here  I  must  relate  a  little  an¬ 
ecdote,  which,  however  trifling,  has  often  amused 
me.  I  had  but  one  horse  and  he  was  a  very  fine  one; 
he  was  too  fine  to  put  in  the  plow ;  I  had  hired  one 
for  that  work,  until  I  could  make  a  purchase.  One 
morning  I  had  been  busy  plowing,  and  came  in  to  breakfast ; 
my  wife  and  I  had  just  finished,  when  a  man  rode  up  to  the 
gate  leading  a  horse  ;  he  called — I  went  out  to  him  and  asked 
him  to  alight.  “  No,”  said  he,  “  Pm  in  a  hurry  ;  is  this  where 
Mr.  Collins  lives?”  “My  name  is  Collins,  sir.”  “  Well  sir,  I 
was  told  at  the  place  where  I  stopped  last  night,  that  you  want¬ 
ed  to  purchase  a  horse,  and  have  called  to  see  if  I  could  sell  you 
one.”  I  told  him  I  wanted  one,  if  the  horse  and  price  suited 
me.  He  then  began  praising  his  horse  and  his  good  qualities. 
I  looked  at  the  horse  and  thought  he  might  do  a  summer’s  work; 

he  was  old,  but  stout  and  strong  looking.  “Well,  how  much 

138 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


139 


do  you  ask  for  your  horse?”  He  replied,  “  I  have  always  asked 
one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  but  am  now  willing  to  take  a 
little  less.”  “  Your  horse  don’t  suit  me  sir  ;  alight,  perhaps 
you  have  not  been  to  breakfast.”  “Well,”  said  he,  “  I  want 
some  water  very  bad  and  will  get  down  for  a  few  minutes.” — 
We  went  in,  and  I  told  my  wife  the  gentleman  wanted  some 
breakfast.  There  was  a  negro  girl  about  the  house  ;  my  wife 
gave  some  orders  about  breakfast,  and  he  immediately  broached 
the  subject  of  religion  ;  my  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  and  he  seemed  to  be  inclined  to  the  Methodist  order. 
I  did  not  incline  to  either  ;  my  wife  was  also  partial  to  any 
one  who  would  talk  on  religious  subjects.  I  was  not  so  fond 
of  it,  thinking  there  was  a  great  deal  of  deception  used  ;  the 
two  soon  got  warmly  engaged  with  their  subject,  but  she  found 
herself  rather  headed  ;  he  was  by  far  her  superior.  When  the 
breakfast  came  on  the  table,  he  said  a  grace  as  long  as  a  Scotch¬ 
man  wrould  over  a  haggis.  After  he  had  eaten,  he  commenced 
his  conversation  again,  and  was  very  lengthy,  so  much  so,  that 
I  thought  he  had  entirely  forgotten  that  he  had  been  in  a  hurry, 
wanting  to  be  at  my  work.  He  continued  for  more  than  an 
hour  ;  when  he  finished,  he  bid  her  a  kindly  farewell,  telling 
her  to  hold  fast  to  religion,  and  saying,  “  I  have  a  fine  horse  I 
want  to  sell  your  husband,  but  believe  I  cannot  persuade  him.” 
She  said  that  I  would  take  my  own  way  as  to  that ;  he  asked 
me  to  walk  out  and  give  him  a  few  directions.  I  did  so,  and 
went  more  than  a  hundred  yards,  he  walking  and  leading  his 
two  horses.  I  stopped  to  turn  back;  “  Well,”  said  he,  “you 
had  better  take  this  horse ;  you  shall  have  a  bargain  in  him  as 
I  need  a  little  money,  and  will  wait  with  you  for  a  part  of  the 
price  if  not  convenient  to  pay  all,  or  take  it  in  goods  at  the 
store.”  To  cut  the  matter  short,  I  told  him  it  was  in  vain  to 
talk,  for  I  would  not  give  him  more  than  one  fourth  of  what 
he  asked.  After  beating  about  a  while,  he  agreed  to  take  in 
cash,  twenty-five  dollars  and  eight  in  the  store ;  I  agreed  to 


140 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


give  it  ;  we  went  back  to  the  house,  I  paid  him  and  took  up 
my  saddle  to  put  it  on  my  new  horse  to  go  to  the  store  with 
him.  “  Oh!”  said  he,  •“  take  your  fine  horse  out  of  the  stable 
and  ride  him,  and  put  that  poor  fellow  up  and  feed  him,  for  he 
is  almost  famished  ;  the  man  with  whom  I  staid  last  night  had 
not  one  grain  of  corn  to  give  my  horses  ;  they  had  to  stand  in 
a  cow-pen  all  night  without  a  mouthful  to  eat,  and  have  not 
been  fed  since  yesterday  morning;  feed  him' and  he  will  be 
ready  to  go  to  the  plow  when  you  come  back.”  I  asked  him 
where  he  stayed  ;  he  told  me  ;  I  knew  the  man  had  no  corn  to 
feed  horses  and  thought  no  more  about  it  at  the  moment.  I  took 
his  advice,  saddled  my  other  horse,  put  the  new  one  up,  fed  him, 
and  off  we  went.  We  had  about  two  miles  to  ride  to  the  store; 
on  the  way  I  began  to  compare  his  religion  with  the  price  of 
the  horse,  and  his  other  conversation,  and  I  began  to  conclude 
that  I  must  be  cheated  some  way  in  the  horse,  and  that  if  relig¬ 
ious,  he  would  be  proof  against  liquor  ;  if  a  hypocrite,  I  could 
contrive  to  make  him  drunk. 

When  we  got  to  the  store,  I  told  the  store-keeper  to  let  the 
gentlemen  have  what  articles  he  wanted,  to  the  amount  of  eight 
dollars  ;  he  began  to  call  down  some  articles  at  cash  prices. 
“  Don’t  you  make  a  difference  between  cash  and  credit?”  “Not 
a  cent,”  said  the  store-keeper,  “  with  tins  man  it  is  all  the 
same.”  There  'was  company  about  the  store,  and  I  called  for 
a  bowl  of  toddy,  •■Come,”  said  I,  “stranger,  I  dislike  a  dry 
bargain — suppose  we  take  a  drink  together,”  “  Why,”  said  he, 
“  I  seldom  drink  anything,  but  I  suppose  I  must  drink  with  you, 
as  we  have  been  trading.”  He  got  his  goods  and  wanted  no 
coaxing  to  take  the  next  drink,  and  after  taking  three  or  four 
more  drinks,  he  laid  ont  five  of  his  dollars.  I  was  not  much 
then  in  the  habit  of  drinking  ;  after  I  had  got  him  fairly  in  a 
good  way,  I  left  him.  He  never  left  the  store  till  night  and 
then  he  was  so  far  gone  that  he  went  but  a  few  hundred  yards, 
and  laid  down  by  the  road-side,  and  probably  fell  asleep,  for 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


141 


lie  had  gone  off  in  the  night  and  left  all  his  goods  lying  at  the 
place  where  they  were  picked  up,  next  morning  ;  he  came  back 
next  day,  inquring  for  his  goods,  but  no  one  could  give  any 
account  of  how  or  where  he  had  lost  them,  but  they  were  all  at 

•  V 

the  store  safe,  and  he  got  them.  I  had  never  seen  the  man  be¬ 
fore,  nor  since,  but,  on  inquiry  found  he  was  a  class-leader  in  the 
church,  and  a  great  hand  to  exhort.  He  certainly  was  entitled 
to  credit ;  they  called  him  brother  Hopkins.  When  I  went 
home,  I  asked  my  wife,  what  she  thought  of  the  man  ?  She  re¬ 
plied,  that  if  all  men  were  as  good  as  she  thought  he  was, 
there  would  be  a  better  religious  condition  in  the  world,  and  all 
men  ought  to  follow  his  example.  I  told  her,  I  thought  I  was 
cheated  in  the  horse.  No.  said  she,  he  wras  too  good  a  man  to 
cheat  any  man  ;  I  have  been  looking  at  the  horse,  and  he  is 
worth  double  the  money,  and  you  have  cheated  the  poor  man 
because  he  is  religious  ;  I  am  surprised  at  you  ;  it  seems  like 
you  are  an  enemy  to  religious  people  ;  you  are  always  persecut¬ 
ing  them.  Well,  said  I,  we  will  see.  I  put  my  horse  into  the 
plow  and  he  was  the  laziest  I  have  ever  yet  seen  ;  no  whip  nor 
anything  else,  would  urge  him  on.  I  next  tried  the  saddle ;  it 
was  all  the  same,  whip  nor  spur,  answered  no  purpose  ;  I  got 
tired  of  him,  turned  him  out,  and  put  in  my  hired  horse  again. 
I  fed  him  for  eight  or  ten  days,  and  rode  him  to  a  muster 
and  swapped  him  away,  and  by  paying  thirty  more  dollars  I  got 
a  pretty  respectable  horse.  He  had  got  the  horse  the  morning 
he  came  to  my  house,  from  the  man  where  he  staid  all  night. 

I  lived  on,  made  my  crop  and  just  commenced  building  me 
a  house  in  which,  if  life  lasted,  I  had  no  doubt  I  would  spend 
many  days,  and  here  commenced  one  of  the  most  singular  inci¬ 
dents  of  my  life.  In  detailing  this,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
the  most  of  mankind  would  think  me  as  insane  as  Noah  per¬ 
haps  was  thought,  while  engaged  in  builing  the  ark.  It  may 
be  supposed  that  this  was  not  intended  for  the  public,  but  it  is  a 
strange,  yet  a  mysterious  fact,  as  the  sequel  will  show.  I  ex- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


142 

pect  and  I  know  I  would  be  branded  with  superstition,  insanity, 
enthusiasm,  and  no  doubt  be  honored  with  the  appellation  of  a 
hypochondriac  and  maniac,  especially  among  the  medical  frater¬ 
nity,  although  I  believe  them  to  be  as  liberal  in  most  <£ises,  as 
most  men,  yet  when  they  come  across  anything  they  can’t  de¬ 
fine  to  their  own  satifaction,  they  dislike  it,  and  dislike  to  ad¬ 
mit  any  solution  they  can’t  make  themselves.  I  shall  venture 
the  outlines,  at  the  same  time,  allowing  every  doctor  to  think 
as  he  pleases  on  the  subject,  admitting  my  position  to  have 
every  appearance  of  a  grand  absurdity.  I  was  once  opposed  to 
the  belief,  as  much  as  any  man  living,  of  witchcraft. 

Some  time  during  the  month  of  October,  of  that  year,  I  was 
taken  with  some  strange  feelings,  for  which  I  could  not  account. 
I  could  ride,  walk,  eat  my  meals,  had  no  fever,  nor  any  particu¬ 
lar  symptoms  of  disease.  Still  I  was  in  punishment,  could  get 
no  refreshing  sleep,  or  satisfactory  rest  in  any  position  •  to  at¬ 
tempt  to  describe  my  feelings  would  be  in  vain.  I  sent  for  a 
celebrated  Dr.  Morton  ;  he  came,  drew  some  blood,  gave  me 
some  medicine  with  directions,  pronounced  my  case  not  danger¬ 
ous,  saying  he  would  call  again  ;  he  did  so,  gave  me  more  medi¬ 
cine  and  left  me,  stating  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  call  any 
more — there  was  no  danger.  I  found  no  alteration  ;  waited  two 
months  before  I  attempted  to  try  another  ;  then  went  to  a 
Dutch  doctor  by  the  name  of  Clemens,  and  Dr.  Wright.  I  was 
under  their  directions  until  the  next  May  ;  having  received  no 
benefit  from  their  treatment,  I  was  advised  to  try  an  eminent 
physician,  Dr.  Shelton,  of  Pendleton  District,  South  Carolina 
who,  it  was  said,  cured  almost  everything  ;  numbers  having  gone 
to  him  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles  distant,  and  never  failed 
to  get  relief.  At  this  time  my  first  child  was  born. 

I  got  a  carriage,  took  my  wife  and  child,  and  started  for 
Dr.  Shelton’s,  intending  to  stay  until  I  could  get  some  relief,  if 
possible.  When  within  six  miles  of  his  residence,  I  was  inform¬ 
ed  that  he  had  died  a  few  days  previous.  Upon  enqniring,  I 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


143 


was  told  that  there  was  a  Dr.  Edward,  about  seven  miles  dis¬ 
tant,  who  had  studied  and  practised  under  Dr.  Shelton,  and  it 
was  thought  he  was  as  good.  Concluding  to  go  to  him,  I  went 
and  called  on  the  Doctor ;  after  some  conversation,  I  told  him 
my  business  ;  he  examined  me  minutely  respecting  my  feelings 
and  what  practice  I  had  been  under  ;  he  said  that  if  I  would 
remain  with  him  three  weeks  he  would  cure  me  ;  that  he  would 
not  undertake  to  board  me,  but  would  furnish  a  good  room  with 
a  fire  place ;  neighbors  were  plenty  and  I  could  procure  any 
thing  that  was  wanted,  and  as  my  wife  was  along,  she  could 
cook  for  me  and  herself.  “  If  I  fail  to  cure  you/7  he  continued, 
“you  shall  not  pay  me  a  cent,  neither  for  the  room  nor  my  ser¬ 
vices  ;  if  I  perform  a  cure,  I  shall  charge  you  what  will  be 
moderate,  and  you  shall  have  the  liberty  of  my  shop,  and  my 
books,  if  you  wish  to  read  ;  in  a  while  I  cau  learn  you  to  mix 
up  medicines,  and  have  no  doubt  we  shall  be  good  company,  so 
there  will  be  a  pair  of  us  besides  your  child,  for  my  wife  has  no 
children.*7 

I  took  with  the  offer,  and  settled  down  for  three  weeks.  I 
was  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  the  doctor  during 
the  time,  and  he  paid  every  attention,  yet  there  was  no  change 
effected.  When  the  time  had  expired  he  told  me  he  wished  a 
confidential  conversation  with  me,  and  we  went  into  a  private 
room,  alone  ;  he  wanted  to  ask  a  few  questions,  and  wished  me 
to  give  a  candid  answer.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  had  ever 
heard  of  what  was  called  African  poison,  or  was  called  by  some, 
tricking.  I  told  him  I  had  often  heard  of  it,  but  was  alto¬ 
gether  an  unbeliever.  The  idea  was  too  absurd,  to  suppose, 
even  if  it  could  be  done,  that  such  a  snare  should  be  laid  for  me, 
or  for  any  other  individual  alone,  so  as  to  affect  others  who 
were  equally  liable,  and  I  doubted  the  possibility  in  any  way. 
“Well,77  said  he,  “we  medical  men  reject  the  doctrine  as  an  ab¬ 
surdity,  and  indeed  it  is  against  our  interest  to  admit  it,  and 
that  there  are  few  who  believe  it,  but  a  man  mav  be  convinced 
against  his  own  judgment.  Dr.  Shelton  and  myself  have  had 


144 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


three  cases  exactly  the  same  as  yours,  and  failed  in  all,  and  two 
of  the  men  got  perfectly  cured  very  simply,  by  applying  to  an 
old  African  and  are  now  both  well  and  hearty  men,  and  he  per¬ 
formed  the  cure  altogether  by  some  art,  I  know  not  what,  but 
without  any  kind  of  medicine,  and  that  in  a  short  time  ;  the 
other  poor  fellow  never  applied  and  finally  died.  I  should  dis¬ 
like  very  much  for  it  to  be  known,  that  I  admitted  the  belief, 
but  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  Heaven  it  is  what  ails  you,  and 
unless  you  can  get  some  remedy  in  that  way,  you  will  never  get 
well.  All  the  doctors  and  all  the  medicine  in  the  United  States 
will  not  do  you  any  good  and  you  will  spend  your  money  and 
time  in  vain  5  I  have  had  as  fair  a  trial  as  I  could  wish  ;  your 
constitution  is  good,  there  are  few  such,  and  you  are  absolutely 
free  from  any  kind  of  disease  ;  I  am  candid  with  you  and  feel 
myself  interested  in  your  recovery,  and  be  assured,  if  you  ever 
get  well,  you  will  find  the  truth  of  what  I  tell  you.” 

I  thought  at  the  time  it  was  a  strange  lesson  for  a  man  of 

* 

science,  and  wondered  how  he  could  admit  such  absurdity.  He 
stated  that  the  negro  who  had  performed  the  cure  on  these  two 
men  lived  about  ten  miles  distant,  and  in  order  to  give  me  some 
proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  doctrine,  proposed  the  following 
plan :  viz.,  “  I  will  write  to  the  owner  of  the  negro  ;  I  know 
him  to  be  much  of  a  gentleman  ;  I  will  request  him  to  let  the 
negro  come  to  me,  not  mentioning  any  business.  The  secret 
must  rest  between  you  and  me  ;  will  speak  to  my  wife  to  go 
over  and  tell  Willie  Gibson,  a  young  man  who  lives  in  sight,  to 
come  over-- 1  wish  to  see  him — your  wife  can  go  with  her.  I 
will  hire  him  to  go  after  the  negro,  not  letting  him  know  any¬ 
thing,  nor  any  one  else,  not  even  our  wives.  You  and  I  will 
stay  together,  and  speak  to  no  one  separately,  until  he  comes. 
You  are  an  entire  stranger  ;  he  nor  no  one  else  knows  any¬ 
thing  about  you,  in  this  vicinity,  and  if  he  tells  you  it  is  the 
case,  or  any  particular  circumstances  or  reason  for  it,  then  you 
-can  judge  for  yourself  or  draw  your  own  conclusions. 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER.  145 

ITe  sent  for  the  young  man  and  wrote  for  the  negro  as  pro¬ 
posed  ;  he  came  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening.  I  was  lying  on  a 
bed,  the  doctor  and  the  two  women  sitting  in  the  same  room ; 
it  was  announced  by  the  young  man  that  the  negro  had  come  ; 
the  doctor  asked  him  into  the  room  ;  after  some  compliments 
had  passed,  he  told  him  he  had  a  sick  man  he  wanted  him  to 
look  at.  “  Well/7  said  the  black,  “  let7s  see  him.”  He  could 
not  speak  very  plain  English,  but  sufficiently  so  to  be  under¬ 
stood.  Being  requested  to  get  up,  I  did  so,  and  presented  my¬ 
self  before  the  magician,  the  first  that  had  ever  undertaken  to 
tell  me  of  past  and  future  events,  relative  to  myself.  After 
viewing  me  a  short  time,  he  began  to  consult  his  oracle,  ephody 
or  whatever  name  you  might  choose  to  give  it,  for  I  have  none. 
I  asked  no  questions,  neither  did  he  ;  I  felt  a  little  sullen,  think¬ 
ing  it  would  turn  out  to  he  mere  balderdash.  He  began  by  tel¬ 
ling  of  past  events  ;  in  this  he  somewhat  surprised  me,  for  he 
told  me  a  number  of  facts  that  it  wTas  impossible  for  any  person 
but  myself  to  know  any  thing  about ;  not  even  my  wife  knew 
anything  about  them  ;  at  length  he  told  what  the  doctor  had 
predicted  and  what  was  the  cause,  and  how  it  had  been  con¬ 
ducted.  After  he  had  done  it,  it  was  as  plain  as  Daniel  told 
Nebuchadnezzar7s  dream  ;  he  then  performed  some  kind  of  spell 
or  charm  to  prevent,  as  he  said,  any  further  progress  of  the 
complaint,  and  told  me  that  if  I  would  stay  some  ten  or  twelve 
days,  he  would  cure  me  ;  that  he  could  not  do  it  in  a  shorter 
time  unless  he  could  go  home  with  me,  and  in  that  case  it  would 
not  take  him  over  three  hours.  The  negro'  had  told  me  the 
truth  as  respected  circumstances,  which  I  could  not  acconnt  for, 
because  I  knew  there  was  no  possibility  of  his  gettingany  com¬ 
munication  on  the  subject,  yet  I  was  still  an  unbeliever, — I 
could  not  swallow  the  doctrine.  If  I  had,  I  should  have  cer¬ 
tainly  staid  the  time.  Next  morning,  after  some  more  conver¬ 
sation  with  the  doctor,  I  paid  his  bill  and  dismissed  him  ;  on  the 

day  following,  I  took  my  leave  of  the  doctor  and  his  amiable 
•  19 


146 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


lady  with  feelings  of  the  highest  esteem  and  gratitude  and 
steered  my  course  for  home.  On  my  return,  the  natural  inquiry 
was,  “ Has  Collins  got  well?”  “No,  I  believe  not.”  “Oh, 
there’s  nothing  ails  him  but  the  hypo  ;  he  will  soon  have  it  as 
bad  as  Edmund  Beezly  had  it.”  Well,  I  could  not  contradict  it ; 
It  might  be  the  hypo,  for  I  know  not  what  the  hypo  is.  I 
perhaps  have  had  it  more  than  a  hundred  times,  and  perhaps 
have  it  at  the  present  moment,  yet  I  know  not  what  it  is,  nor 
have  I  ever  met  a  man  of  science  who  could  fairly  solve  the 
question  to  their  own  satisfaction,  much  less  to  mine,  who 
makes  no  pretension  to  science.  It  is  a  certain  something  for 
which  they  can  prescribe  no  specific,  and  for  aught  I  know  it 
may  be  what  our  Savior  supposed  to  enter  the  swine,  or  perhaps 
Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  were  possessed  of  when  they  pursued  the 
Israelites  into  the  Bed  sea,  and  I  presume  it  would  hardly  be 
doubted  that  it  was  the  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  that  troubled 
Saul  when  David  had  to  play  before  him  on  the  harp.  At  all 
events,  I  may  have  been  subject  to  it  at  times,  all  my  life,  for  I 
am  not  like  some  people  I  have  seen  ;  it  would  never  offend  me 
to  be  accused  because  I  could  not  tell  ♦whether  it  was  true  or 
false.  I  would  always  admit  the  possibility,  because  I  knew 
of  men  of  more  sense  than  myself  to  preach  the  doctrine,  and  I 
think  it  a  bad  rule  for  a  man  to  condemn  the  opinion  of  his 
superiors.  But  admitting  I  had  the  hypo  all  my  life,  I  never 
had  it  in  the  same  way  before.  There  was  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Gilbert,  who  lived  a  close  neighbor  to  me,  and  who  had  been 
in  the  same  situation  for  about  three  years  ;  he  was  wealthy  and 
had  money  to  spend,  and  he  had  applied  to  the  best  physicians ; 
he  had  gone  to  Augusta  and  Charleston,  and  tried  the  most  em¬ 
inent  of  the  faculty,  at  both  places,  without  success,  and  had 
tried  the  Warm  .Springs,  on  French  board ,  and  obtained  no  re¬ 
lief  and  finally  by  the  suggestion  of  some  friend,  applied  to  an 
old  African  and  was  perfectly  cured,  in  a  short  time,  without 
medicine  and  nothing  more  than  what  people  called  conjuration. 


a: 


■REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


147 


I  knew  all  this,  but  like  most  of  people  who  are  inclined  to  join 
the  strong  party,  forgetting  a  lesson  that  I  had  learned  in  my 
youth,  that  the  weak  party  had  gained  their  independence  and 
freedom  ;  but  joined  in  the  general  hue  and  cry,  hypo,  hypo.. 

I  had  lived  neighbor  to  Mr.  Gilbert  for  more  than  four  or 
five  years,  and  spent  a  good  part  of  my  time,  while  a  widower, 
.about  his  house.  J  could  then  write  as  fair  a  hand  as  most 
men,  though  at  this  time,  for  want  of  eyesight  and  steady  nerves, 
I  find  myself  vastly  deficient.  I  was  a  better  calculator  than 
Mr.  Gilbert,  although  he  was  a  man  of  business  ;  he  used  to 
employ  me  to  regulate  his  books,  examine  his  invoices,  and  lay 
on  his  per  centage  ;  he  professed  a  great  partiality  for  me,  and 
I  soever  had  any  reason  to  doubt  his  sincerity.  I  used  also  to 
keep  him  in  fresh  beef  in  the  season  of  shooting  ^matches  ;  he 
always  furnished  the  money,  but  never  failed  to  get  beef  by  my 
shooting.  This  Mr.  Gilbert  frequently  told  me  that  I  had  bet¬ 
ter  apply  to  this  old  African  for  relief,  as  he  had  done,  for  he 
thought  my  case  exactly  the  same  as  his  had  been.  I  was  still 
in  doubt,  being  opposed  to  his  doctrine,  and  suspecting,  that  if 
any  thing  of  the  kind  had  been  done  to  me,  he  was  concerned 
in  it,  if  not  the  sole  cause ;  besides,  I  did  not  like  him.  At 
length,  I  concluded  to  try  him.  He  came  and  stayed  some  two 
or  three  days  ;  I  got'some  better,  but  did  not  like  the  negro  or 
his  master,  thinking  them  both  to  be  knaves.  I  thought  if  any 
such  miracle  could  be  wrought,  that  the  master  could  do  it,  and 
that  there  was  an  understanding  between  them  in  order  to  make 
money,  for  the  negro  was  always  employed  in  such  business,  or 
engaged  in  cock-fighting.  His  master  was  an  old  bachelor  and 
had  no  family,  bnt  a  few  blacks  ;  he  kept  close  to  the  gambling 
table,  and  followed  horse  racing  and  cock-fighting,  always  keep¬ 
ing  old  Harry,  as  he  was  called,  with  him,  invariably  betting 
on  his  judgement.  My  dislike  to  old  Harry  and  his  master,  in¬ 
duced  me  to  dismiss  the  old  fellow  and  pay  him  up. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


VISIT  TO  A  CELEBRATED  DOCTOR.— A  NEW  AND  STRANGE  RE¬ 
LIGIOUS  SECT. 


:  S 


WAS  THEN  LIVING  in  Franklin  County, 
Georgia.  I  sold  my  small  farm,  and  moved 
into  Jackson  County,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
my  wife’s  father  ;  and  there  rented  a  small 
place  and  took  an  English  school.  For  two 
years  I  continued  in  that  business.  I  had  an 
attack  of  fever  in  the  fall  season,  and  came 
very  near  dying.  Still  being  subject  to  this  hypo, 
in  addition  to  the  fever,  on  my  recovery  from  the 
latter,  but  all  was  not  right.  I  had  a  brother 
who  came  to  see  me  from  North  Carolina.  I  conclu* 
ded  to  make  one  more  trial  with  a  doctor.  There  was 
a  celebrated  Dr.  Freeling  that  lived  near  Salisbury, 
North  Carolina;  he  was  noted  for  skill  in  his  profession,  and 
his  fame  had  gone  abroad  in  every  direction  ;  he  had  emigrated 
from  Germany  at  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  settled 
in  Carolina  ;  he  professed  to  judge  complaints  or  diseases  by 
their  external  appearance,  and  it  was  said  that  he  could  cure 
every  thing  in  that  way.  I  determined  to  make  a  trial,  and 
went  on  in  company  with  my  brother,  stopping  at  my  father’s  a 
few  days.  The  distance  from  home  was  some  three  hundred 
miles  ;  on  the  night  before  we  arrived  at  the  Doctor’s,  we  staid 


* 


148 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


U9 


at  the  house  of  a  widow  lady  named  Duffy.  The  old  lady,  as 
old  women  generally  are,  was  quite  inquisitive,  and  finding  that 
I  was  from  Georgia,  asked  among  other  things,  about  Mr.  Neb- 
lack,  whom  I  have  mentioned  before;  it  seemed  that  she  was 
his  aunt  and  had  heard  nothing  about  him  for  two  or  three 
years  ;  she  seemed  to  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  him,  and  the 
account  that  I  ga.ve  was  somewhat  flattering  to  the  old  lady  ; 
in  consequence  of  my  acquaintance  with  her  nephew,  she  would 
have  no  pay.  Next  morning  we  started  very  early  for  the 
Doctor’s,  having  about  six  miles  to  ride.  I  determined  not  to 
tell  him  the  lamentable  tale  that  I  had  the  hypo,  and  had  come 
near  three  hundred  miles  to  get  relief  through  him.  I  thought 
the  better  way  would  be  to  state  that  1  was  travelling  on  busi¬ 
ness  through  the  country  ;  that  I  was  in  bad  health  from  some 
cause,  and  it  not  being  much  out  of  my  way,  I  had  called  on 
him  for  some  relief.  When  I  arrived  at  his  house,  there  was  a 
considerable  appearance  of  wealth  ;  there  was  no  alternative  ; 
I  had  to  introduce  myself,  and  my  natural  rusticity  rather  un¬ 
qualified  me  for  the  approaching  scene.  I  entered  and  asked 
to  see  the  doctor.  I  was  very  agreeably  relieved  from  any  ap¬ 
prehensions,  and  was  immediately  met  by  the  doctor,  himself, — 
a  plain,  familiar,  corpulent  old  Dutchman.  He  immediately  or¬ 
dered  our  horses  to  be  taken  care  of,  and  well  fed  ;  we  were 
then  conducted  into  what  I  supposed  to  be  the  common  hall ; 
I  determined  not  to  be  tedious — I  told  the  doctor  my  motive  for 
calling  and  at  his  request,  furnished  him  with  the  outlines  of  my 
situation.  I  had  thought  from  the  character  of  the  man  that  he 
could  cross  his  fingers,  turn  his  back  to  the  moon,  and  pro¬ 
nounce  a  few  Dutch  sentences,  and  cure  anything,  and  even 
drive  the  devil  out  if  he  had  possession  of  the  man.  There 
were  three  or  four  young  looking  men,  and  all  seemed  busy 
reading.  After  the  doctor  had  waited  the  time  he  thought 
proper,  he  asked  me  to  walk  into  the  shop  again,  and  began  to 


150 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


examine  my  situation,  and  made  some  remarks ;  lie  then 
observed  to  me  that  I  had  perhaps  suffered  considerable  in¬ 
convenience  from  riding  so  much,  he  then  filled  a  small  bottle 
of  some  kind  of  tincture,  took  a  piece  of  paper  and  wrote 
down  directions  how  to  use  it  and  told  me  I  would  find  it  con¬ 
venient  in  traveling  ;  he  then  asked  us  up  to  the  board  to  take  a 
glass  of  peach  brandy  ;  by  this  time  dinner  appeared  on  the 
table  ;  we  set  down  and  ate  an  excellent  dinner.  Some  time 
after  dinner  I  proposed  taking  leave,  and  asked  the  doctor  his 
charge,  and  he  dismissed  me  by  my  paying  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  for  all.  I  found  the  doctor  to  be  a  very  plain  old  Dutch¬ 
man,  full  of  humor  and  anecdote  ;  he  told  me  he  came  to  the 
United  States  as  a  surgeon  with  his  Majesty’s  troops — that 
he  was  frieudly  to  the  -American  cause  and  that  he  found  means 
of  making  his  escape,  and  got  among  some  of  his  own  country¬ 
men  about  the  Moravian  Town,  and  kept  concealed  until  peace 
was  made.  He  then  married,  settled,  and  betook  himself  to  his 
profession,  and  his  practice  became  extensive  which  made  him 
wealthy.  I  left  him  and  started  back  to  my  father's.  “  Well/7 
said  I,  “  I  have  made  a  grand  speculation  ;  I  have  rode  more 
than  three  hundred  miles,  to  see  the  celebrated  Dr.  Freeling 
and  the  interview  cost  me  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  and  I  am 
returning  just  as  I  came.  This  is  grand  indeed — this  is  certain¬ 
ly  the  hypo — and  he  even  did  not  tell  me  that.”  We  rode  on 
that  evening  about  twelve  miles  to  a  Col.  Caldwell’s,  if  I  mis¬ 
take  not,  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Yadkin,  and  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  we  had  to  stop  a  little  before  night,  or  run  the  risk 
of  riding  some  time  after  dark.  The  gentleman  of  the  house 
it  seemed  was  not  at  home.  In  passing  about  I  saw  an  uncom¬ 
mon  number  of  black  cats,  and  out  of  curiosity,  asked  the  old 
lady,  how  many  black  cats  she  had?  “Why,”  said  she,  “we 
have  only  nineteen  at  present.  Mr.  Caldwell  took  a  great 
fancy  to  black  cats,  and  concluded  he  would  have  twenty,  and 
has  often  had  the  number,  but  somthing  always  happens  to  the 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


151 


twentieth,  and  he  can  never  keep  more  than  nineteen  black 
ones  at  a  time.”  This  put  me  in  mind  of  a  similar  circum¬ 
stance  that  I  had  known  in  Georgia.  There  was  an  old  Dutch¬ 
man  who  lived  close  by  my  wife’s  father,  who  took  the  same 
notion  and  often  got  twenty,  but  could  never  keep  more 
than  nineteen  ;  my  wife  will  laugh  to  this  day  when  she  thinks 
of  the  old  Dutchman’s  black  cats. 

I  came  to  my  father’s,  where  I  spent  ten  or  twelve  days. — 
There  was  then  a  great  excitement  about  religion  ;  there  had 
sprung  up  a  new  sect,  especially  in  the  upper  and  northern  part 
of  North  and  South  Carolina.  1  knew  not  what  they  were  cal¬ 
led,  but  they  certainly  were  a  curious  sect  ;  any  man,  no  matter 
what  he  was,  or  where  he  came  from,  if  he  had  impudence  or 
self  importance  enough,  was  admitted  to  preach  or  exhort,  among 
them.  They  had  praying,  singing,  laughing,  and  dancing  exer¬ 
cises  ;  the  jerks,  the  falling  down,  barking  and  laughing,  and 
sometimes,  the  fighting  exercise  ;  the  exercise  of  love,  which 
was  the  best  of  all.  During  my  stay  at  my  father’s,  1  attended 
two  of  their  meetings.  One  Saturday  evening,  my  brother  told 
me,  there  was  to  be  one  of  these  meetings  the  next  day,  some 
distance  off  ;  he  proposed  to  me  to  go  and  he  would  accompany 
me ;  I  agreed,  and  early  the  next  morning  we  set  off  for  the 
place.  When  we  arrived,  the  people  were  assembled  ;  the 
house  was  crowded,  all  sitting  in  silence.  I  stepped  in;  I  was 
a  stranger  ;  I  stood  on  the  floor  for  two  or  three  minutes,  see¬ 
ing  no  vacant  seat  ;  at  length,  one  man  rose,  and  without  speak¬ 
ing,  handed  me  a  chair.  As  I  seated  myself  near  the  door,  all 
eyes  turned  upon  me,  as  if  in  expectation.  I  sat  still ;  after 
some  time  had  passed  in  silence,  one  got  up  and  addressed  the 
assembly  in  a  few  words  ;  then  prayed.  A  second  and  third 
followed,  when  all  joined  -in  singing  ;  after  singing  some  time, 
all  dropped  to  their  knees  and  commenced  praying  aloud,  so 
that  no  man  could  tell  what  was  uttered.  After  a  considerable 
length  of  time  spent  in  this  way,  one  stout  looking  fellow  sprung 


152 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


to  his  feet,  clasping  his  hands,  giving  a  tremendous  stamp  on 
the  floor,  and  making  a  loud  shout.  All  followed,  the  example, 
and  every  man  and  woman  began  to  exhort,  or  whatever  it 
might  be  called,  for  it  very  much  resembled  the  confusion  of 
Babel,  when  the  languages  were  confounded.  When  this  had 
lasted  some  time,  some  began  to  fall  prostrate  on  the  floor, 
some  began  to  dance,  others  to  laugh,  and«some  of  the  men  and 
women  to  be  very  loving  ;  others  were  stamping  on  the  floor — 
striking  their  feet  together  and  shouting.  There  was  a  large 
table  in  the  house  ;  a  surly  looking  fellow  got  on  his  all  fours 
and  began  to  bark  under  it  like  a  dog,  once  in  a  while  jumping 
back.  It  seemed  by  some  means  the  devil  had  slipped  himself 
into  the  house  unawares,  but  the  fellow  had  struck  his  track, 
trailed  him  up  and  brought  him  to  bay  under  the  table,  where 
lie  had  attempted  to  conceal  himself.  In  order  to  witness  the 
scene,  they  crowded  around  the  table,  where  they  began  to 
kick,  and  stamp,  and  hiss  on  their  dog,  and  seemed  to  be  deter¬ 
mined  to  punish  the  old  fellow  for  his  intrusion,  if  they  could 
ever  get  their  dog  to  seize  him.  My  situation  began  to  be  un¬ 
pleasant  ;  I  thought  I  was  in  danger  of  being  run  over,  and 
thought  my  neutrality  would  subject  me  to  the  suspicion  of  be¬ 
ing  rather  friendly  to  old  Nick,  and  that  I  might  have  to  pay 
the  forfeit  in  the  same  way,  that  he  was  likely  to  do.  I  thought 
it  advisable  to  be  off,  and  slipped  myself  out  of  the  door  and 
stood  near  a  short  time,  and  mv  brother  and  two  or  three  of  his 
associates,  who  were  neutrals  like  myself,  came  out ;  we  walk¬ 
ed  off  a  short  distance,  to  where  our  horses  were  tied,  and  sat 
down  ;  the  uproar  continued  sometime,  but  how  they  disposed 
of  the  devil,  I  never  learned.  At  length  they  began  to  pour 
out  of  the  house  like  bees  swarming,  shouting  and  clapping 
their  hands.  This  is  a  faint  description  of  the  fact.  I  attend¬ 
ed  another  meeting  of  the  same  kind,  only  not  quite  so  bad. 
After  I  had  got  to  the  place,  one  fellow  got  up,  took  a  text  and 
began  to  preach.  After  he  had  gone  on  some  time  the  people 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


153 


began  to  be  struck  down,  and  considerable  confusion  ensued — 
shouting,  singing,  dancing,  praying,  etc.  At  length  one  fellow 
discovered  the  devil  to  be  in  the  house  and  gave  the  alarm,  and 
immediately  attacked  the  old  fellow  for  a  fight,  fist  and  scull — 
at  it  they  went,  and  presently  they  both  came  on  the  floor.  I 
could  not  see  the  devil  indeed,  but  the  other  fellow  appeared 
to  be  in  a  hard  scuffle,  down  and  up,  over  and  over.  The  peo¬ 
ple  crowded  around,  shouting  and  encouraging  the  fellow  ;  at 
last  an  old  lady  who  I  supposed  to  be  the  wife  of  the  fellow 
who  was  engaged  in  the  combat,  rushed  forward,  slapping  her 
hands,  and  crying  out — “Well  done,  Johnny!  Gouge  him, 
Johnny  !  Bite  him,  Johnny  ! 77  At  last  a  stout  and  brave  look¬ 
ing  fellow,  perhaps  more  friendly  to  old  Horney  than  the  rest, 
but  not  willing  to  see  a  friend  abused,  he  jumped  up  and  smack¬ 
ing  his  hands  together  and  stamping  on  the  floor,  roared  out, 
“  What,  has  the  devil  no  friends  here  to-day  ?  Hurrah  devil ! 
Gouge  him,  devil !  Bite  him,  devil !  Fair  play,  there  shall  no 
man  touch !  Hurrah,  devil !  1 711  stand  to  your  back.77  At 

length  old  Clooty,  perhaps  getting  a  little  out  of  wind,  got  out 
of  the  house ;  the  fellow  with  whom  he  had  been  engaged, 
pursued  determined  on  revenge.  All  followed  and  the 
man  who  had  been  speaking  left  his  stand,  and  clapping  his 
hands  and  shouting,  urged  on  the  chase.  All  pursued,  their  hero 
in  front ;  there  was  a  large  tree  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
house  and  it  would  seem  that  old  Sam,  to  save  his  bacon,  had 
to  climb  the  tree.  The  fellow  kept  the  track  and  presently 
began  to  bark  up  the  tree.  He  made  several  attempts  to  climb, 
in  pursuit,  but  it  was  so  large  he  could  not  ascend,  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  by  barking  at  the  root  They  all  gathered 
around,  some  throwing  sticks  to  make  him  jump  off,  but  in  vain. 
Old  Harry  like  a  bear  that  had  been  sorely  worried  by  the  dogs, 
was  feign  to  bear  all  their  insults,  and  secure  himself  by  sitting 
among  the  linbs  and  looking  down,  perhaps  with  contempt  on 

their  efforts.  Fortunately  for  old  Cloots,  there  was  no  axe  con- 
20 


154 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


venient,  else  I  think,  they  in  a  rage,  would  have  felled  the  tree*, 
and  if  so,  his  case  must  have  been  desperate.  After  wearying 
themselves  in  fruitless  attempts  to  get  the  old  fellow  down* 
they  retreated  from  the'  house  and  left  the  place. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

m 

PREACHES  A  SERMON— MYSTERIOUS  CURE. 

IJRING  THE  TIME  I  was  getting  ready  to* 
leave  my  father’s,  he  had  been  busy  selecting' 
some  books  which  he  wished  to  present  to  me 
for  my  perusal.  Among  the  number  were 
Davis’s  Sermons,  Harvey’s  Works,  some  of 
Calvin’s  writings,  and  some  of  Tillitson’s.  to¬ 
gether  with  a  small  Bible.  I  could  not  re¬ 
fuse  the  books  because  they  were  from  mv  father, 
and  perhaps  for  the  last  time,  which  proved  to  be 
a  fact,  for  I  never  saw  him  afterward.  Mv  father 
and  brother  both  made  some  inquiry  about  my  funds  y 
I  told  them  I  had  plenty,  which  in  truth  was  not  the* 
case  ;  but  I  was  too  proud  to  own  my  poverty.  I 
took  my  leave  and  started  for  home.  It  was  late  in  the  morn¬ 
ing  when  I  started,  and  I  travelled  no  great  distance  that  day  ; 
I  made  it  a  rule  in  travelling  to  start  early  and  ride  ten  or 
twelve  miles  before  I  stopped  for  breakfast,  and  then  have  my 
horse  fed  and  stop  no  more  until  night.  After  I  had  gone  some 
distance  I  began  to  consult  my  purse,  and  found  it  rather  light¬ 
er  than  I  expected ;  I  began  to  repent  almost  of  my  pride  im 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER, 


'Hv 

00 

not  accepting  some  relief  from  my  father  and  brother,  but  it 
was  too  late.  I  had  now  to  get  along  the  best  way  I  could  ;  I 
stopped  for  the  night  and  started  on,  early  next  morning. 
Soon  after  I  set  out  it  began  to  rain.  I  began  to  apprehend  I 
should  be  detained  by  high  water,  as  there  were  a  number  of 
bold  streams  ahead,  and  in  case  I  was  much  detained  my  money 
would  be  sure  to  fail,  and  I  began  to  study  what  plan  I  should 
fall  on  ;  from  external  appearance  I  knew  it  would  be  thought 
I  had  money  plenty,  and  for  a  man  to  wear  good  clothes  and 
be  otherwise  well  fixed  for  travelling,  to  attempt  to  beg,  he 
would  be  suspected  of  being  an  impostor  or  be  liable  to  be  in¬ 
sulted.  At  length  I  concluded  to  take  advantage  of  the  reli¬ 
gious  excitement  at  that  time  prevailing.  I  had  once  before 
traveled  in  company  with  a  man  and  we  both  got  into  a  similar 
situation  ;  our  money  was  nearly  expended,  and  he  proposed 
that  we  should  step  at  the  first  convenient  place  and  he  would 
undertake  to  preach  a  sermon  to  raise  a  little  money  ;  if  I 
would  act  as  clerk,  that  is,  give  out  the  hymns,  and  sing 
on  my  part,  and  he  would  perform  the  balance.  I  agreed, 
and  we  stopped  near  a  church  ;  he  proposed  to  the  man  where 
we  stopped  that. if  he  would  send  out  word  to  the  people,  that 
he  would  preach  to  them  the  next  day.  It  was  readily  agreed 
on  ;  we  were  well  entertained  to  the  next  day,  when  he  preach¬ 
ed  sure  enough.  I  performed  my  part  without  difficulty  and  we 
got  money  enough  to  go  on  our  journey.  I  thought  in  the 
present  case  it  would  be  no  great  harm  to  play  the  same  game; 
the  greatest  difficulty  with  me  was — I  was  opposed  to  praying 
in  public.  Though  my  father  used  to  enjoin  it  on  me  when  I 
was  under  him — he  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  up  worship  in 
his  house  regularly,  and  he  enjoined  on  his  sons  as  they  grew 
up,  to  perform  that  duty  at  times  in  Ids  presence,  being  of  Solo¬ 
mon’s  opinion.  “  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and 
when  he  gets  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it ;  ”  but  in  my  case, 
Solomon  and  he,  both  missed  the  figure  ;  there  was  another 


156 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


rule  that  was  practiced  by  the  people  in  mv  raising — it  was 
thought  to  be  the  duty  of  all  mothers  of  families,  in  case  of  the 
absence  of  husbands  to  perform  the  duty  of  prayer  in  the  fam¬ 
ily  ;  it  was  enjoined  by  the  clergy  and  a  matter  of  censure  if 
they  were  known  to  fail,  and  I  in  passing  about,  had  frequently 
.  been  called  on  to  do  that  duty  in  place  of  the  absent  husband; 
although  I  did  not  like  the  business,  I  disliked  to  back  out  es¬ 
pecially  if  there  were  any  good  looking  girls  about  the  house, 
which  frequently  happened,  but  to  my  story.  I  rode  about 
twelve  miles  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  when  I  stopped 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Cunningham,  to  get  some  breakfast  and 
have  my  horse  fed,  and  being  after  the  usual  hour,  I  had  of 
course  to  wait  awhile.  I  intended  to  let  my  horse  rest  an  hour 
or  two,  and  while  I  was  waiting  the  rain  increased  so  that  1 
determined  to  stay  until  it  would  cease  to  rain  so  hard.  I  was 
very  reserved  in  conversation  ;  indeed  I  was  so  to  a  fault,  es¬ 
pecially  among  strangers.  I  seldom  attempted  to  take  the  lead 
in  conversation,  preferring  to  listen  to  wiser  men  than  myself,  in 
place  of  much  talking.  Mr.  Cunningham  seemed  to  be  fond  of 
talking  and  in  a  short  time,  brought  on  the  subject  of  religion ; 
it  seems  he  was  a  member  of  the  church,  and  very  zealous  in 
the  cause  .;  he  seemed  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  present  re¬ 
vival,  that  had  taken  place  ;  this  seemed  to  me  to  favor  my 
plan.  I  alleged  that  in  some  things  I  thought  they  had  car¬ 
ried  the  matter  a  little  too  far,  but  perhaps  it  would  be  a  bad 
plan  to  try  to  suppress  it,  for  it  would  naturally  cool  after  a 
while,  and  then  the  superfluous  part  would  drop  off.  He  pre¬ 
dicted  a  great  reformation  to  be  in  progress,  and  I  did  not  hes¬ 
itate  to  admit  it ;  I  soon  learned  enough  to  venture  imposing 
on  his  credulity.  I  told  him  that  I  belonged  to  the  clergy  and 
preached  when  at  home  ;  that  I  had  been  called  from  home  on 
important  business  and  had  been  detained  longer  than  I  had 
expected,  and  that  my  funds  were  almost  exhausted,  and  I  dis¬ 
liked  to  beg  ;  that  if  I  could  meet  with  a  convenient  chance,  I 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


157 


would  stop  and  preach  a  sermon  in  order  to  get  a  little  help 
that  I  dislike  to  ask  anything  from  people  that  perhaps  cared 
nothing  for  religion.  He  seemed  to  rejoice  that  I  had  called  on 
him,  and  told  me  he  was  confident  he  could  be  of  service  to  me 
and  it  would  give  him  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.  He  told  me 
there  was  a  place  some  miles  ahead,  perhaps  eight  or  nine  call¬ 
ed  Van  Zandt’s  meeting-house,  and  people  would  be  glad  of 
preaching  ;  that  they  had  no  preacher  then  living  among  them. 
“  If  you  will  consent  to  it  you  can  stay  with  me  and  have  a  pri¬ 
vate  room  with  a  good  fire  place  where  you  will  not  be  inter¬ 
rupted.  I  will  immediately  send  on  a  boy  to  one  of  the  elders 
— have  now  forgotten  his  name  ;  he  lives  about  six  miles  from 
here  and  will  write  to  Mr.  Van  Zandt,  and  will  get  the  other 
to  forward  it  to  Mr.  Van  Zandt  who  lives  close  to  the  meeting¬ 
house  and  they  will  notify  the  people,  and  I  will  give  you  a  let¬ 
ter  of  introduction  to  Mi\  Van  Zandt;  I  would  like  to  ac¬ 
company  you  myself,  but  I  have  some  business  that  I  am  oblig¬ 
ed  to  attend  to,  that  I  cannot  put  off.”  I  told  him  to  Jet  the 
appointment  be  to-morrow  precisely  at  twelve  o’clock,  for  time 
was  pressing  with  me,  and  would  not  admit  of  any  delay  that 
could  be  avoided.  As  soon  as  the  boy  was  dispatched  in  the 
rain,  I  betook  myself  to  the  room  as  quick  as  convenient,  and 
determined  to  keep  myself  as  private  as  possible.  I  now  had  a 
hard  task  before  me,  upon  which  a  good  deal  depended,  and  in 
which  there  was  some  risk.  I  therefore  required  some  pretty 
serious  study  for  the  event.  I  had  some  doubt  respecting  my 
capability  to  perform  the  task  before  me,  and  set  about  prepar¬ 
ing  for  it  with  all  the  energy  I  could  command.  I  got  out  all 
my  books  and  began  to  examine  them,  in  order  to  find  a  subject 
on  which  to  found  my  next  day’s  work.  I  chose  for  my  subject 
the  twelfth  verse  of  the  seventh  chapter  of  Matthew — “  There¬ 
fore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  you  even  so  to  them  ;  for  this  is  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.” 
After  preparing  some  introductory  remarks,  I  arranged  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


153 

subject  in  the  following  order,  to  wit :  In  the  illustration  of 
the  subject,  I  proposed.:  First — To  offer  a  few  things  for  the 
right  understanding  of  the  rule  of  social  duty.  Second — To 
consider  the  reason  *of  it.  Third — To  open  its  excellency. 
Fourth — Mention  .important  instances  of  particular  cases  to 
which  it  should  be  applied,  and  lastly  show  the  necessity  and 
advantages  of  observing  it.  I  will  remark  here,  that  it  might 
tie  doubted  whether  I  could  remember  all  these  things  correctly  ; 
if  I  had  to  rely  on  memory  alone,  it  might  be  fairly  doubted, 
but  in  all  my  travels,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  daybook 
or  kind  of  journal,  and  carefully  noted  down  every  particulars 
and  1  find  myself  yet  in  possession  of  a  number  of  those  papers 
to  enable  me  to  be  correct.  In  the  evening  of  the  day,  the  rain 
-ceased.  Mr.  Cunningham  seemed  to  be  a  man  of  considerable 
wealth,  and  there  was  . a  store  in  sight,  in  which  he  seemed  to 
be  connected,  and  people  seemed  to  be  passing  to  and  from  the 
.store  during  the  day.  In  the  evening  I  heard  him  from  the  win¬ 
dow,  of  my  room,  tell  those  who  were  passing,  that  there  was  a 
strange  preacher  to  preach  at  Man  Zandt’s  Meeting-house,  on 
to-morrow,  and  to  give  out  the  word — it  seemed  he  lived  out 
in  that  direction.  On  the  day  appointed  he  furnished  me  with 
a  letter -of  introduction,  as  he  had  promised,  and  it  would  seem 
from  circumstances,  that  he  was  a  man  of  influence  among  the 
people.  I  left  him  and  started  on  my  journey,  determined  not 
to  arrive  at  the  place  until  the  hour  for  the  appointment  had 
arrived.  On  riding  along,  I  began  to  think  on  the  probable 
issue  of  the  scene  before  me,  and  my  mind,  at  times  would  mis¬ 
give  me.  I  had  fairly  committed  myself.  “  My  hand  was  to 
the  plow  and  it  was  too  late  to  look  back.”  I  must,  therefore, 
“  make  a  spoon  or  spoil  a  horn.”  As  I  have  said  before,  the 
praying  part  was  with  me,  the  greatest  stumbling  block.  As  to 
the  discourse  itself,  if  I  could  pursue  the  plan  I  had  laid  down, 
I  had  not  much  doubt,  but  I  could  perform  it ;  as  to  the  psalm* 
•ody  or  singing  part,  I  felt  full  confidence  in  myself.  I  therefore 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER'. 


159 


determined  to  introduce  the  business  by  singing  a  pretty  lengthy 
hymn  in  order  to  put  my  blood  in  complete  circulation3 
before  I  entered  on  the  other  parts  of  the  duty,  whatever 
might  be  the  ludicrous  appearance  of  my  person.  I  knew  my 
dress  perfectly  corresponded  with  the  occasion.  I  was  dressed 
in  a  genteel,  plain  suit  of  black  cloth,  of  a  good  quality. 
I  was  always  opposed  to  extravagance  in  dress,  when  able  to 
wear  good  clothes.  I  never  was  inclined  to  wear  a  ruffled  shirt, 
and  I  seldom  wore  any  kind  of  gloves,  unless  in  very  cold 
weather  and  then  I  chose  woolen  mittens — boots,  1  was  oppos¬ 
ed  to  wearing,  not  that  I  disliked  the  boot  itself,  but  for  two 
reasons — first,  my  leg  was  entirely  too  small  to  fill  up  the  boot, 
and  secondly,  my  leg  was  placed  so  exactly  in  the  centre  of  my 
foot,  that  it  threw  so  much  of  my  heel  behind,  as  to  make  it  dif 
ficult  to  draw  on  a  boot  that  would  fit.  Necessity  has  often 
since  compelled  me  to  wear  a  garment  that  I  disliked,  but  not 
so  at  the  time  I  speak  of.  I  contrived  to  delay  time  so  as  to  ar- 
rive  at  the  place  a  little  later  than  the  appointment.  I  found 
a  goodly  number  of  people  waiting.  I  was  soon  met  by  Mr. 
Van  Zandt  and  several  others  ;  I  delivered  Mr.  Cunningham’s 
no.te  which  was  quite  satisfactory,  and  after  making  a  hasty 
arrangement  of  my  notes,  was  conducted  into  the  church,  I 
proceeded  on  the  plan  that  I  had  purposed  and  succeded  in  get¬ 
ting  through  without  much  difficulty.  When  I  had  concluded 
speaking  I  requested  one  of  the  brethren  to  pray,  which  was 
readily  complied  with  and  after  the  usual  benediction,  I  sat 
down  in  the  pulpit  to  breathe.  In  the  time,  the  hat  went 
round  for  contribution,  and  after  I  descended,  I  was  presented 
with  sixteen  dollars  and  two  bits.  I  pretended  to  decline  tak¬ 
ing  so  ffiucli  but  after  a  little  urging  accepted  it  with  thankful¬ 
ness.  I  was  then  urged  to  go  to  dinner  and  spend  the  evening 
but  declined  on  the  ground  that  I  was  not  in  the  habit  of  eating 
dinner  ;  that  my  health  did  not  admit  of  it ;  that  I  was  com¬ 
pelled,  if  possible,  to  be  at  Pendleton  Court-house  in  a  given 


160 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP  A 


time,  and  liad  not  a  moment  to  lose.  T  put  put  off  in  all  haste 
and  went  on  my  way,  rejoicing  that  I  had  been  so  fortunate. 
Whether  this  could  really  be  considered  any  crime,  I  have  never 
been  able  to  decide  with  myself,  but,  as  no  harm  grew  out  of  it 
to  any  one,  and  as  it  served  to  relieve  my  present  embarrass¬ 
ment,  perhaps  I  am  too  willing  it  should  be  excused  ;  at  all 
events  it  rested  a  profound  secret  with  myself,  and  until  within 
one  year  past,  I  never  divulged  it  to  my  wife,  nor  to  any  friend, 
knowing  if  I  told  it  once,  I  might  as  well  publish  it  at  once. 
I  had  almost  forgotten  it,  when  one  day,  not  twelve  months 
ago,  in  looking  over  some  old  papers,  I  came  across  the  old 
journal  which  brought  it  to  mind,  when  I  began  to  laugh  and 
amused  my  family  by  relating  the  circumstance. 

I  returned  again  to  teaching  singing  school,  as  usual.  I 
was  still  afflicted  in  an  extraordinary  way,  and  had  tried  the 
best  physicians  that  I  could  hear  of,  but  all  was  in  vain,  and 
I  began  to  think  of  giving  over  all  further  efforts,  as  I  had  but 
little  faith  in  magic,  as  it  is  called.  At  length  I  one  day  hap¬ 
pened  in  company  where  there  was  to  be  a  man  who  had  lived 
in  the  neighborhood  where  I  then  was.  tie  had  gone  some 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  lower  down  the  country,  where  he  had  mar¬ 
ried  and  settled  himself.  He  had  come  up  with  his  wife  on  a 
visit  among  his  friends.  In  conversation  he  began  to  make 
some  strange  statements  about  a  negro  that  lived  in  his  neigh¬ 
borhood.  I  knew  the  man  was  thought  to  be  a  man  of  truth, 
but  still  I  did  not  know  how  to  give  full  credit  to  his  story. 
He  stated  among  a  number  of  things,  that  people  had  come  a 
considerable  distance  to  hear  from  him  about  stray  horses, 
stolen  property,  and  a  great  many  other  things,  and  that  he 
had  performed  many  cures,  in  fact,  he  made  him  out  a  fair  prod¬ 
igy  that  could  tell  every  thing,  and  do  almost  anything.  I  lis¬ 
tened  with  attention,  but  asked  no  questions  as  the  discourse 
was  not  directed  to  me,  neither  do  I  suppose  that  I  was  thought 
of  as  being  interested  in  the  subject  in  any  way.  I  went 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


161 


On  and  tried  the  cure.  The  method  of  performing  it  was  some¬ 
what  similar  to  the  one  attempted  upon  me  by  Gilbert  and  his 
negro,  as  described  in  a  preceding  chapter  ;  with  this  exception, 
that  I  complied  literally  with  the  instructions  of  the  magician, 
or  whatever  he  might  be  termed,  and  however  strange  it  may 
appear  to  others,  I  was  entirely  cured.  For  thirty  years  after, 
which  is  at  my  present  writing,  I  have  never  been  afflicted  with 
a  similar  disease. 

Note. — It  is  certainly  a  question,  too  bard  to  be  solved,  by  short  sighted 
man,  to  separate  the  mysterious  union  that  exists  between  the  mind  and  body, 
or  to  render  the  proper  antidote  possessing  the  two  fold  qualities  of  relieving 
both  mind  and  body.  The  healing  art  has  been  a  study  fraught  with  more  in¬ 
terest  than  any  other  in  the  world,  and  the  investigating  mind  is  still  in  busy 
quest,  for  some  catholicon  to  answer  the  afflictions  of  man.  Nations  differ  in 
their  mode,  and  manner  of  treating  these  things — some  nations  resort  to  spirit¬ 
ual  treatment,  some  to  cunjuration,  some  to  specifics  under  the  character  of 
drugs  and  medicines.  With  due  respect  Moses  hung  up  the  image  of  a  Serpent 
in  the  tents  of  the  Israelites  to  cure  their  maladies  5  the  Arabians,  the  Africans, 
and  Indians  resort  to  mysterious  and  hidden  tricks.  Other  nations  as  ourselves, 
confide  more  in  minerals,  vegetables,  and  other  appliances,  to  cure,  believing 
they  possess  more  charms,  and  greater  virtues,  but  after  all,  we  still  grope  in 
the  dark,  and  are  bound  to  confess  that  the  Lord  giveth,  and  the  Lord  taketh 
away,  and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.”  J.  M.  R. 


21 


CHAPTER  XXIX, 

.  VISIT  TO  TENNESSEE.— ENCOUNTER  WITH  INDIANS. 

IpSpj  SELESS  would  it  be  to  sa y  anything  about  matters  for 
II  1  severa^  years>  as  nothing  of  note  transpired  until  the 
year  1810.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  I  concluded  to 
remove  to  the  State  of  Tennessee.  There  was  a  con¬ 
siderable  pressure  in  consequence  of  the  late  embargo,  and 
money  had  become  scarce,  and  my  affairs  as  well  as  that  of 
many  others  had  become  somewhat  embarrassed.  In  order  to 
prepare  for  moving,  I  had  to  sell  off  my  property  at  a  very 
low  rate.  I  made  up  my  mind,  however,  and  determined  to 
move,  and  to  that  end  concluded  to  an  and  see  the  country.  I 
took  my  negro  along  to  work  for  provisions  while  I  should  re¬ 
turn  for  mv  family.  For  fear  of  having  my  negro  stolen,  I  did 
not  pass  through  the  Indian  country,  but  took  a  circuitous  route 
through  the  upper  part  of  South  Carolina  and  crossed  the 
mountains  at  Eastatowe  Gap,  opposite  the  head  of  French- 
broad  ;  thence  down  the  -river,  passing  Ashville,  Newport, 
Seirsville,  Knoxville  and  Kingston,  where  I  crossed  Clinch 
River,  and  went  down  the  Tennessee  River  into  the  Tennessee 
valley,  twenty-five  miles  above  the  Highwassee  garrison.  t 
was  then  a  newly  settled  place.  Here  I  made  my  choice  as 
being  a  place  to  which  I  felt  inclined  to  move.  The  lands 
were  all  covered  by  military  warrants  from  North  Carolina, 

and  in  the  hands  of  speculators,  making  it  very  difficult  to  get 

162 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


163 


£oo cl  titles.  T  therefore  rented  a  small  farm,  of  twenty  acres, 
with  a  small  cabin  on  it.  1  hired  out  my  negro  to  work  for 
some  corn  and  wheat,  by  the  time  I  should  return  with  my  fam¬ 
ily,  and  prepared  to  start  for  home. 

1  concluded  in  returning  to  pass  through  the  Cherokee  na¬ 
tion,  it  being  much  the  nearer  way.  There  were  but  few  places 
of  accommodation,  and  they  were  all  kept  by  half  breeds,  or 
white  men  who  had  intermarried  with  the  Indians.  It  was  ne¬ 
cessary  that  I  should  use  one  of  my  horses  to  carry  provisions 
•and  corn  ;  one  was  an  Indian  pony  that  had  been  accustomed 
to  it  ;  I  tied  his  pack  on  in  the  morning,  fixed  his  halter,  turned 
him  loose,  and  he  followed  close  up  all  day.  What  few  stands 
there  were  on  the  road,  were  a  hard  day’s  ride  apart ;  conse¬ 
quently,  if  you  missed  the  first,  you  missed  them  the  whole  way, 
unless  you  rode  late  in  the  night.  I  provided  as  much  provis¬ 
ions  for  myself  and  horses  as  would  keep  us  for  twenty-four 
hours  at  least.  It  was  late  in  the  morning  when  I  started,  and 
was  detained  some  time  at  the  ferry  on  the  Tennessee  river  ; 
this  threw  me  back,  so  that  I  missed  the  first  stand  by  several 
miles.  I  made  a  fire,  tied  my  animals,  and  encamped  by  the 
road  side  ;  1  was  a  stranger  to  the  route  and  did  not  even  know 
where  the  Indians  lived  who  were  scattered  along  it,  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  corn,  fodder,  potatoes,  &c.,  to  travellers.  I 
would  have  preferred  camping  close  to  one  every  night,  for  if 
you  camp  close  to  an  Indian,  you  are  never  in  danger  of  getting 
your  property  stolen. 

On  the  second  day  I  was  detained  again  at  the  ferry  on  the 
Highwassee  River,  which  compelled  me  to  again  camp  alone  by 
the  rapids.  I  was  rather  disagreeably  situated.  The  agency 
was  then  sitting  and  I  was  not  more  than  six  miles  from  the 
place,  and  the  Indians  were  passing  me  at  all  hours  of  the  night 
and  many  of  them  were  drunk,  so  that  of  course  I  got  but 
little  sleep.  Fortunately,  I  understood  a  good  deal  of  their 
lingo  and  could  speak  some  of  it ;  could  ask  the  names  of 


164 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


places,  distances,  and  the  prices  and  names  of  articles  that  I 
wanted,  and  could  answer  in  the  negative  or  affirmative  to  any 
question  they  would  ask  me.  They  are  a  singular  people.  If 
you  ask  a  few  words  in  Indian,  they  immediately  conclude  you 
understand  them  perfectly,  and  know  a  great  deal  more  than 
perhaps  you  really  do,  and  are  disposed  to  be  much  more 
friendly  to  you  than  if  they  think  you  do  not  understand  them, 
and  will  immediately  talk  English  with  you,  wThen  otherwise 
they  would  not.  The  Cherokees  mostly  all  understand  Eng¬ 
lish  ;  but  if  there  is  a  hundred  by,  you  can  never  get  but  one 
to  talk  English  to  you  at  the  same  time.  I  got  corn  and 
fodder*  plenty  for  my  horses  among  them.  On  the  fourth  day 
I  had  to  pass  through  a  turnpike,  and  through  a  place  called 
Teloney  Towns,  said  to  be  the  worst  place  in  the  whole  Indian 
Nation  for  stealing  or  robbing.  These  towns  extend  along  a 
narrow  valley  of  rich  land,  on  what  the  Indians  called  the 
Talking  Rock  Creek,  between  the  Coosa  River  and  Long- 
Swamp.  They  extend  four  or  five  miles  along  the  valley,  in 
villages  but  a  short  distance  apart. 

It  was  late  in  the  morning  when  I  had  to  pass  through 
these  towns,  and  there  was  no  place  to  stay  at  where  entertain¬ 
ment  could  be  found  among  the  whites,  until  I  got  through  the 
Long  Swamp,  which  was  at  least  twelve  miles  off.  The  man 
that  kept  the  turnpike  was  an  Indian,  who  wTas  very  inquisitive 
to  know  how  far  I  intended  going  that  night.  Having  told  him 
Long  Swamp,  he  told  me  I  could  not  get  there  that  night  with 
a  pack  horse,  but  would  have  to  camp  out.  I  told  him  that  I 
would  have  to  go  ,even  if  forced  to  ride  all  night.  He  shook 
his  head  and  laughingly  replied,  I  would  have  to  sleep  when  I 
had  passed  through  the  last  town.  It  was  near  sunset,  and  -look¬ 
ing  forward  the  straight  road,  before  me,  I  observed  an  Indian 
with  his  gun  on  his  shoulder,  approaching.  When  he  came  up, 
he  saluted  me  with  “canaulee,”  that  is,  brother,  or  good  friend. 
,My  reply  was,  “  oszeruki,”  mighty  good  ;  we  shook  hands  very 


165 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

cordially.  I  asked  him  how  far  it  was  to  Stile’s;  he  signed  ten 
miles.  I  told  him  1  was  in  a  hurry,  and  must  go  there  that 
night.  “  Enclah!”  was  his  reply  ;  “  you  must  lie  down  and 
sleep  before  you  get  there.”  I  told  him  of  my  hurry,  and  bid 
him  good  bye.  After  getting  ahead,  perhaps  two  or  three  hun¬ 
dred  yards,  I  turned  around  on  my  horse,  and  saw  the  fellow 
standing  in  the  same  place,  gazing  after  me.  I  did  not  like  the 
sign,  being  in  an  Indian  country,  alone,  a  stranger  to  the  road, 
which  was  thinly  inhabited  by  whites,  without  any  means  of  de¬ 
fence  if  attacked  ;  my  only  weapon  was  a  small  double  bladed 
knife,  one  blade  long  and  perfectly  keen,  like  a  dirk.  I  thought 
it  would  be  advisable  to  leave  the  road  that  night  and  camp  out 
of  sight,  but  it  being  a  broken  and  mountainous  country,  deemed 
it  best  to  get  into  some  deep  bottom,  where  J  would  be  conceal¬ 
ed  from  the  view  of  the  road.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening  the 
ground  where  I  was  passing  seemed  to  favor  my  intentions. 
Upon  my  left  was  a  high  ridge,  the  road  passing  along  the  side 
of  it.  I  turned  short  off  the  road  and  ascended  the  hill  and 
descending  the  other  side,  entered  a  doep  bottom.  I  thought 
I  would  be  perfectly  secure  and  out  of  sight.  It  was  in  the 
month  of  November,  and  the  nights  were  cold  and  frosty,  mak¬ 
ing  it  necessary  to  have  some  fire.  I  gathered  up  some  wood 
and  made  a  fire  by  the  side  of  an  old  log  ;  stripped  my  horses 
and  made  them  fast,  with  a  couple  of  good  halters,  to  a  sapling 
near  the  fire,  and  fed  them  with  corn  ;  arranged  my  baggage 

0 

and  seated  myself  by  the  fire,  being  cautious  to  have  but  a 
small  one  so  as  to  have  as  little  light  as  possible.  I  drew  out 
my  bread  and  meat  and  eat  my  supper,  made  my  bed  and  laid 
down  by  the  fire.  I  was  too  uneasy  to  sleep,  and  passed  my 
time  alternately  lying  down  and  settingup  until  after  midnight. 
The  night  was  a  clear,  starlight  one,  and  not  a  sound  disturbed 
the  deathlike  stillness.  I  examined  my  horses,  gave  them  some 
more  corn,  and  once  more  tried  to  sleep.  I  had  plenty  of  cloth¬ 
ing  and  was  not  afraid  of  the  cold.  Before  laying  down  I 


166 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 

# 

stripped  off  my  under  coat,  vest,  shoes  and  leggings.  ]  soon 
fell  asleep,  and  must  have  lain  about  three  hours,  when  1  awoke. 
My  tire  was  nearly  out,  and  1  could  hear  nothing  of  my  horses. 
I  got  up  and  kindled  the  fire  and  looked  for  my  horses,  but 
they  wrere  gone  ;  it  hardly  seemed  possible  that  they  had  been 
stolen  for  I  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  find  a  secluded  sjot. 
They  were  both  wrell  shod  and  if  near  could  have  been  heard, 
owing  to  the  gravelly  state  of  the  ground.  1  listened  atten¬ 
tively  for  some  time  and  heard  something  about  fifty  or  sixty 
yards  up  the  hollowr.  It  would  walk  three  or  four  steps,  stop  a 
few  moments  and  then  go  on  again  ;  it  walked  like  a  human 
being  but  stepped  exceedingly  light.  I  roused  up  the  fire  so 
the  light  would  shine  some  distance,  put  on  my  shoes,  buttoned 
up  my  coat  and  started  to  make  a  circuit  around  in  sight  of  the 
fire  to  listen  for  my  horses.  I  went  along  the  hill  side,  dowrn  the 
hollow,  and,  the  first  thing  I  knew,  stumbled  right  into  the  road. 
I  turned  round  and  saw  that  my  camp  was  not  more  than  a 
hundred  yards  distant,  in  plain  view.  The  road  had  turned 
round  the  point  of  the  hill  and  crossed  the  hollow  just  below 
-me.  The  discovery  of  this  fact  forced  upon  my  mind  the  un¬ 
pleasant  conclusion  that  my  horses  had  been  stolen,  and  it  was 
vain  to  seek  further  for  them  in  the  night ;  my  only  chance 
■would  be  to  go  back  to  camp  and  remain  till  claylif  ht.  I  had 
gone  about  half-way  back,  and  heard  a  signal  given  by  a  fellow' 
hollowing  like  an  owl. 

Knowing  the  Indian  note  too  well  to  be  deceived,  I  stop¬ 
ped  short  and  stood  a  minute  or  two,  convinced  that  my  horses 
were  at  the  place  where  the  signal  was  given.  I  heard  some 
one  walking,  and  was  confident  it  was  some  one  left  to  watch 
my  movements ;  thinking  it  might  not  be  safe  to  go  to  camp, 
for  in  case  of  an  attack,  there  might  be  more  than  one,  and  if  I 
had  to  die  it  should  be  in  the  road,  so  that  there  should  be  some 
sign  left.  Taking  my  course  hastily  up  the  hill,  by  the  way 
I-  had  left  the  road  at  night,  I  gained  the  edge,  and  stopped 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


167 


suddenly  under  two  or  three  large  trees  that  stood  close  toge¬ 
ther  ;  my  coat  was  long,  of  a  dark  brown  color,  and  hard  to  be 
seen  in  the  night.  There  I  remained  perfectly  still  ;  the  fellow 
continued  the  owl  signal,  and  striking  with  a  club  on  an  old 
log  ;  he  would  strike  three  times,  stop  awhile,  and  then  repeat. 
Suddenly  there  were  sounds  of  footsteps  at  no  great  distance,, 
approaching.  Standing  still  without  moving,  I  drew  my  knife  ; 
in  opening  the  long  blade,  the  spring  being  stiff,  it  cracked  like 
the  cocking  of  a  gun  ;  the  footsteps  ceased.  I  determined  not 
to  move  until  he  came  in  feeling  distance  and  then  strike  with 
all  my  power,  thinking  it  would  be  a  serious  battle  any  way  ;  if 
killed,  to  take  one  of  them  along.  He  soon  made  briskly  off  ; 
after  he  got  some  distance,  lie  began  to  whistle  like  a  deer  that 
was  “scared”  but  was  too  far  off  for  the  other  to  hear  him.  By 
this  time,  the  morning  star  was  up  and  day  breaking  ;  the  other 
fellow  still  kept  up  the' signal  ;  it  seemed  to  be  near  the  course 
of  the  road,  into  which  1  stepped,  walking  in  the  direction,  stop¬ 
ping  occasionally  to  notice  behind  me.  After  walking  as  far 
as  the  noise  seemed  to  be  it  ceased  ;  while  standing  to  listen, 
the  sound  of  the  horses’  shoes  striking  the  gravel  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  road  was  quite  distinct.  Day  was  breaking  ; 
at  length  they  came  to  a  hollow,  they  keeping  along  on  the  hill 
side  near  it,  myself  on  the  opposite  side  ;  in  this  manner  they 
travelled  about  two  miles,  when  they  crossed  the  hollow  to  mv 

%/  y 

side,  and  stopped  in  a  little  flat  bushy  place  about  sixty  or  sev¬ 
enty  yards  from  me.  Not  being  light  enough  to  distinguish  ob¬ 
jects  fairly  1  patiently  waited  ;  when  it  became  so,  my  horses 
were  in  sight  but  no  one  perceivable  near  them.  They  stood 
near  a  large  poplar  tree  ;  in  going  to  them,  it  was  necessary  to 
pass  near  it;  on  my  approach,  when  within  twenty  feet,  there 
stood  a  large  Indian  leaning  against  the  tree  ;  he  had  not  dis¬ 
covered  me,  but  as  soon  as  he  did,  he  broke  like  a  quarter  horse,, 
to  my  rejoicing.  With  all  possible  speed  was  the  return  to  my 
camp;  every  thing  was  safe  ;  I  resumed  my  journey. 


168 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


After  riding  seven  or  eight  miles,  I  came  to  a  camp  of  sever? 
or  eight  families,  all  up  and  very  busy  in  cooking  tlieir  break¬ 
fast  ;  three  or  four  of  the  families  were  of  my  neighborhood,  so 
I  halted  arid  took  breakfast  with  them.  The  late  event  was  to  • 
my  mind  an  interposition  of  Providence  in  my  favor.  Perhaps 
this  idea  extends  farther  than  most  people  are  willing  to  admit  5 
they  may  think  as  they  please  011  the  subject.  My  bow  was 

drawn  at  a  venture  but  the  shaft  was  levelled  with  an  unerring 

♦ 

eye  and  guided  by  an  Omnipotent  hand.  There  is  a  certain 
destiny  appointed  to  man — that  his  way  is  marked  out,  and  he 
has  to  travel  to  the  end — that  adversity  and  prosperity  spring 
from  the  same  source,  and  will  come  to  those  for  whom  they 
are  appointed.  As  to  the  future  destiny  of  man,  it  is  not  for 
me  to  speak,  for  that  point  is  so  much  disputed  among  wise 
men,  that  it  would  be  simplicity  in  me  to  meddle  with  it,  but 
it  is  probable,  with  my  thinking,  that  the  material  part  of  man 
will  remain  in  this  world  as  long  as  it  is  a  world.  The  spirit 
or  immaterial  part  may  be  free  and  permitted  to  soar  beyoud 
the  giddiest  heights  of  thought  and  traverse  the  illimitable 
bounds  of  space,  but  the  animal  life  of  man  will  remain  as  long 
in  the  world  as  time  lasts.  I  do  not  now  recollect  meeting  with 
any  writer  that  has  taken  notice  of  the  subject  but  am  inclined 
to  think  that  the  same  quality  of  life  and  animal  vitality  belongs 
to  the  world  from  its  creation  without  increasing  or  diminish¬ 
ing  its  substance  ;  it  is  surely  one  of  the  essential  elements  ne¬ 
cessary  to  constitute  a  world  and  probably  will  remain  like  all 

others.  There  is  a  necessary  quantity  of  heat  and  cold,  light 

, 

and  darkness,  fire,  air,  solids,  life,  and  motion,  which  constitute 
a  world.  These  existing  facts  will  remain  the  same  as  long  as 
Time  shall  last.  * 

But  to  resume.  I  took  leave  of  my  company,  proceeded  on 
my  way,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  after  leaving  Ten¬ 
nessee,  reached  home. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

REMOVAL  TO  TENNESSEE— LAST  REMARKS. 


VLY  A  FEW  DAYS  elapsed,  after  my  re- 

turn,  before  I  commenced  the  preparations 

necessary  for  my  removal.  Some  difficulty 

was  experienced  ;  being  unable  to  procure  a 

fair  price  and  but  little  money,  for  scarcely 

any  thing.  This  is  commonly  the  case  in 

such  situations.  Having  to  move  on  pack 

horses,  nothing  could  be  taken  but  my  beds  ancl 

clothing.  I  hired  a  man  to  go  with  me  and  assist 

me.  He  had  previously  been  a  trader  among 

the  Indians,  and  was  acquainted  with  all  their 

manners  and  customs,  and  could  speak  and  understand 

their  language.  This  was  of  great  use  to  me  for  I 

had  all  my  horse-feed  to  buy  from  them  ;  besides,  I  took  some 

light  articles  along,  which  in  passing  through  their  country, 

could  be  sold  at  great  advantage.  We  had  three  children,  all 

small,  the  oldest  being  only  a  few  months  over  four  years  of 

age.  I  carried  the  two  oldest  on  the  same  horse,  and  my  wife 

carried  the  youngest,  while  my  hired  man  took  it  deliberately 

on  foot,  and  drove  the  pack-horses.  We  traveled  slow  and 

were  detained  by  bad  weather  and  high  waters,  but  on  the  24th 

of  December,  arrived  on  the  bank  of  the  .Tennessee  river,  at 

the  Indian  Old  Fields.  We  camped  for  the  night,  near  the 
22  169 


170 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 

river,  and  in  the  morning  T  paid  and  dismissed  my  man.  I 
then  crossed  the  river  with  my  baggage  and  with  some  trouble 
got  it  to  a  house  on  the  hill,  about  a  mile  distant,  where  we 
were  treated  with  great  hospitality.  It  was  Christmas  day  and 
we  got  a  good  dinner,  the  first  meal  we  had  taken  in  a  house 
for  fifteen  days.  After  dinner  I  went  out  and  got  some  help  to 
get  my  goods  to  the  place  I  had  rented,  which  was  seven  or 
eight  miles  off,  and  next  day  moved  on  to  it.  Here,  like  begin¬ 
ning  the  world  anew,  we  found  ourselves  without  an  article  of 
furniture,  either  kitchen  or  household,  #nd  but  little  money. 
We  were  among  a  new  race  of  people,  as  it  were,  who  had 
been  mostly  raised  in  the  mountains,  with  different  manners 
and  customs,  and  without  much  regard  for  either  religion  or  the 
Sabbath,  making  it  a  day  for  sporting,  hunting,  fishing,  Ac. 
We  were  not  accustomed  to  this,  and  although  fond  of  camping 
out  and  hunting,  yet  I  had  never  done  so  on  Sunday,  and 
always  made  it  rule  to  observe  that  day.  There  were  a  few 
families  who  were  exceptions  and  who  would  not  eat  fish  which 
they  knew  to  be  caught  on  Sunday,  and  would  permit  a  deer  or 
•  turkey  to  pass  though  their  yards,  on  that  day,  without  inter¬ 
ruption,  even  by  the  dogs.  There  were  a  few  preachers  among 
them,  but  they  were  the  most  avaricious  set  there,  and  would 
take  advantage  of  a  man’s  necessities  sooner  than  any  others ; 
but  take  the  community  generally,  they  were  excellent  neigh¬ 
bors,  and  as  friendly,  hospitable  a  people  as  the  world  affords. 
I  have  never  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  a  bad  neighbor  in 
my  life,  and  among  all  the  men  with  whom  I  have  met  who 
would  take  all  advantage  in  dealing,  and  cheat  me  out  of  my 
last  cent,  yet  they  would  act  the  part  of  a  friendly  neighbor. 

There  was  but  one  tailor  in  the  country,  and  he  was  partly 
above  working.  I  proclaimed  myself  and  was  soon  crowded 
■with  work,  and  fortunately  pleased  the  people,  got  good  prices 
and  as  provisions  wTcre  low,  and  brought  to  me  without  any 
trouble,  I  got  along  very  well.  By  working  day  and  night  I 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


171 


soon  got  supplied  with  necessaries  for  housekeeping,  and  besides, 
had  my  negro  in  the  field  preparing  for  a  crop.  I  soon  found 
that  industry  was  the  best  recommendation  a  man  could  have. 
My  wife  was  industrious,  and  being  a  good  weaver  and 
seamstress,  went  to  work  also,  and  we  were  soon  comfortably 
situated.  I  soon  got  a  cow  or  two  to  give  us  milk.  The  sea¬ 
son  was  unfavorable  for  crops,  the  drouth  being  one  of  the 
severest  I  have  ever  seen,  but  I  made  enough  to  do  me.  Land 
titles  still  being  uncertain,  I  leased  a  place  for  two  years,  and 
my  luck  continuing  gpod,  I  began  to  acquire  property.  Before 
leaving  Georgia,  I  sold  my  gun,  because  it  was  impossible  to 
carry  it  to  Tennessee,  but  when  arrived  there  I  found  deer  and 
other  game  plenty.  Almost  every  man  kept  a  fine  rifle  and  were 
good  marksmen,  but  few  were  good  hunters.  They  were  care¬ 
ful  of,  and  averse  to  loaning  their  guns,  but  at  length  I  succed- 
ed  in  borrowing  one  with  a  small  bore  which  was  thought  insuf¬ 
ficient  to  kill  deer,  but  people  soon  changed  their  opinions  of 
her.  With  three  of  my  neighbors  who  lived  in  sight  and  had 
been  very  kind  to  us, — furnishing  my  family  with  milk  and  but¬ 
ter  without  making  any  charge, — I  always  divided  my  game; 
neither  of  them  knew  hove  to  hunt.  I  was  so  fortunate  in  hunt¬ 
ing  that  people  laughingly  said  I  exercised  some  art  to  make 
the  deer  come  to  me  to  be  shot  down. 

It  wras  customary  when  the  first  heavy  frost  fell  for  the 
hunters  to  form  small  companies,  go  the  mountains  and  camp 
until  they  killed  as  much  meat  as  they  wanted.  By  this  means 
they  had  plenty  of  venison  all  summer,  and  often  some  to  sell. 
The  first  fall  hunt  that  came  on,  I  went  to  the  head  man  and 
petitioned  to  be  one  of  the  party.  He  laughed  and  said  I  could 
go,  but  lie  expected  I  would  get  lost,  and  doubted  the  sufficiency 
of  my  little  gun.  Agreeing  to  risk  these  matters,  I  accordingly 
packed  up  and  went.  There  were  four  of  us,  and  we  went  to  our 
place  of  camping  that  evening.  The  next  morning  each  man 
took  his  course,  agreeing  that  no  one  should  hunt  in  the  way 


172 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


of  the  other.  When  night  came  I  returned  having  hilled  one 
deer,  the  head  hunter  one,  and  the  others,  nothing.  The  even¬ 
ing  of  the  second  day  the  head  hunter  had  one,  one  of  the  oth¬ 
ers  one,  and  myself  three,  and  on  the  third  evening  the  head 
hunter  had  one,  myself  two  and  the  others  nothing  though  they 
had  had  as  many  or  more  shots  than  either  of  us  ;  but  notwith¬ 
standing  this,  the  rule  of  hunting  was  that  each  should  have  an 
equal  share  of  the  meat,  while  every  man  kept  his  own  skins. 
We  had  now  killed  ten  deer  of  the  largest  kind,  which  we 
took  home,  and  next  day  I  sold  my  skins  f<m  three  dollars  apiece. 

The  next  week  another  party  was  formed  ;  one  of  the  men 
came  to  me  and  offered  to  furnish  me  with  a  good  rifle,  powder 
and  ball,  if  I  would  go.  We  went,  and  in  three  days  killed 
thirteen  deer  and  a  grissly  bear  ;  six  of  the  deer  were  of  my 
shooting.  This  was  as  much  as  our  horses  would  pack.  In  the 
two  hunts  my  share  was  twelve  good  hams,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  winter  I  saved  about  forty-eight  good  hams.  The  rest  of 
my  venison  I  divided  with  my  neighbors,  who  furnished  powder 
and  shot  in  return  :  this  thev  done  for  eight  winters.  I  took 
one  or  two  hunts  in  the  mountains  every  winter  and  one  in  the 
summer  ;  my  best  hunter  would  never  go  there  without  me.  I 
soon  was  able  to  buy  me  a  gun  of  the  best  quality. 

I  was  not  much  inclined  to  stay  in  the  country,  though 
I  believed  it  to  be  as  good  in  many  respects  as  any  paid  of  the 
Union.  1  now  live  in  Louisiana,  My  wife  was  opposed  to 
moving,  unless  her  father  and  mother,  who  had  come  to  the 
country,  would  move  also,  which  was  not  likely  to  be  the  case. 
Although  I  pay  little  attention  to  dreams,  for  I  am  always 
dreaming,  particularly  when  asleep,  I  must  here  mention  one, 
had  about  this  time,  which  was  literally  fulfilled.  I  thought 
a  stranger  came  to  me,  that  I  had  never  seen  ;  in  conversation, 
among  other  things,  he  urged  the  propriety  of  my  moving  ;  I 
mentioned  several  obstacles.  lie  said  :  “  You  will  perhaps  have 
to  move  at  a  more  unfavorable  time  ;  you  are  now  in  a  situa- 


173 


•  REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

tion  to  go  without  much  inconvenience,  and  you  had  better  do  so. 
I  still  objected.  lie  referred  me  to  the  passage  in  the  Bible, 
where  the  Angel  came  to  Lot :  “  Arise  and  get  you  out  of  this 
place,  for  the  Lord  will  destroy  this  city.”  “  So  say  I  unto 
you,”  he  continued  :  “  Arise,  and  get  you  out  of  this  place,  or 
you  will  have  to  leave  it  in  a  worse  condition  ;  pay  no  atten¬ 
tion  to  your  wife’s  objections  ;  go,  while  you  are  able  to  settle 
yourself  somewhere  else.”  I  awoke  and  while  thinking  of  the 
singularity  of  this  dream  again  fell  asleep.  It  was  repeated. 
Next  morning  I  told  it  to  my  wife.  She  said  she  could  easily 
interpret  it :  “  It  is  a  warning  for  you  to  try  and  get  religion, 
and  you  had  better  set  about  it.”  In  a  few  days,  my  wife  told 
her  mother  the  dream.  She  also  interpreted  it  as  a  warning 
to  get  religion.  I  thought  different,  but  what  I  know  not,  so 
it  passed  over  and  was  soon  forgotten. 

I  worked  along  on  the  lease  I  had  taken,  and  was  quite 
fortunate.  When  it  expired,  the  titles  to  land  having  become 
more  safe,  I  ventured  to  purchase  an  excellent  farm  with  about 
sixty  acres  open.  I  put  up  a  comfortable  house  oh  it  and  hired 
a  hand  to  clear  fifteen  more  acres.  I  rented  out  all  but  twenty 
acres  for  three  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  and  sowed  ten  acres  in 
wheat,  keeping  the  other  two  to  cultivate  in  corn,  off  of  which 
I  could  easily  make  five  hundred  bushels  or  more,  for  good  land 
generally  produced  from  sixty  to  ninety  bushels  to  the  acre.  I 
have  seen  a  field  of  two  hundred  acres  on  the  river  measured, 
average  ninety  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  was  now  so  situated  as 
to  live  without  much  work,  hiring  any  kind  of  white  labor  at 
from  six  to  eight  dollars  per  month.  I  began  to  dabble  in  pub¬ 
lic  office,  such  as  bailiff,  sheriff,  etc.  I  was  generally  applied  to 
in  cases  of  sales,  to  act  as  auctioneer  ;  this  of  course  drew  me 
a  great  deal  from  home.  I  have  often  thought  that  I  never  was 
unfeeling  enough  to  make  a  right  mean  sheriff ;  never  liking  to 
see  a  poor  man  distressed  and  his  little  property  sold  for  almost 
nothing  ;  the  claimant  sometimes  unwilling  to  show  lenity  and 


.174 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A 


desirous  that  the  officer  should  collect  his  debt  at  any  sacrifice. 
Thus,  if  he  is  a  man  of  fine  feeling,  he  has  to  strain  his  con¬ 
science  at  times  in  order  to  be  called  a  good  officer.  There 
were  many  cases  in  point  in  my  practice  ;  I  will  mention  but 
one.  There  was  a  poor  man  in  the  neighborhood  that  had  a 
large  family  ;  one  daughter  was  grown,  the  others  were  mostly 
small ;  he  had  no  property  only  what  was  in  his  house,  and  lit¬ 
tle  enough  of  that  for  the  use  of  his  family.  In  order  to  get 
some  little  necessaries  he  had  gone  in  debt  at  a  small  store,  for 
perhaps  something  over  thirty  dollars.  The  old  man  taught 
school ;  his  employers  were  negligent  and  to  urge  them  would 
endanger  his  place.  The  storekeeper  brought  suit,  obtained 
judgment,  and  had  an  execution  issued.  He  told  me  he  wanted 
the  money  collected  with  all  speed.  I  went  with  the  execution; 
when  the  old  lady  saw  me.  coming,  she  closed  the  door  against 
me.  I  must  confess  I  was  not  anxious  to  get  in.  I  went  to  the 
claimant  and  told  him  lie  must  show  property  ;  so  he  went  with 
me.  When  we  got  within  sight  of  the  house,  he  proposed  for 
me  to  stay  back,  until  he  went  forward  and  got  in  the  house  ; 
he  would  sit  right  in  the  front  door,  so  that  the  old  lady  could 
not  shut  it  until  I  got  in,  for  he  was  determined  to  have  his 
money  if  he  had  to  sell  yie  last  bed  there  was  in  the  house. 
After  waiting  until  I  thought  he  had  sufficient  time  ter  get  in, 
I  rode  up.  He  was  sitting  in  the  door  talking  very  religiously 
to  the  old  lady.  She  soon  saw  me  coming  and  ran  out  to  meet 
me,  calling  to  her  daughter  to  shut  the  door.  She  seized  me 
and  laughingly  said  I  was  such  a  handsome  little  man  she  had 
long  been  wanting  to  hug  me  and  would  never  have  a  better 
opportunity  than  now.  The  daughter,  to  obey  the  mother’s 
command,  gave  the  door  a  sudden  shove  and  out  came  the  man 
and  chair  into  the  yard,  and  at  the  same  time  the  door  was 
made  fast.  I  begged  the  old  ffidv  to  let  me  go,  telling  her 
Mr.  B.,  would  tell  my  wife  and  perhaps  her  husband,  and  it 
would  be  apt  to  make  a  fuss.  But  she  said  she  would  not  let 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 


1h» 

LO 

me  go  so  soon,  and  that  Mr.  B.  need  not  trouble  himself  to  tell 
my  wife  or  her  husband,  for  she  would  tell  them  both  herself, 
and  was  sure  they  would  both  approve  of  her  conduct. 

The  storekeeper  was  a  little  vexed  to  think  the  old  lady 
and  her  daughter  had  outwitted  him,  and  that  we  had  to  go  back 
as  we  came,  and  he  took  out  a  ca.  sa.  for  the  old  man’s  body, 
but  by  ■some  means  he  heard  of  it  and  quit  his  school  to  keep 
out  of  the  way.  Hearing  he  was  at  home  I  went  there  after 
him  but  found  the  doors  once  more  closed  against  me.  In  a  few 
days,  however,  some  of  his  employers,  in  order  that  they  might 
not  be  deprived  of  his  services,  made  arrangements  to  settle  the 
debt,  and  so  the  matter  ended. 

The  position  I  occupied,  rendered  me  liable  to  fall  into  all 
kinds  of  company,  and  it  almost  became  necessary  for  me  to 
comply  with  the  general  rules  of  society.  In  those  days  the 
people  were  more  on  an  equality  than  now  ;  there  was  less  dis¬ 
tinction  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  vastly  more  famili¬ 
arity  and  neighborship  among  men,  as  is  generally  the  case  in 
all  new  countries.  There  was  a  class  rather  below  mediocrity, 
but  take  the  body  of  the  people,  they  all  stood  on  equal  ground 
when  assembled  together.  The  judge,  the  lawyer,  the  sheriff, 
the  magistrate  and  the  farmer  were  all  alike.  John,  Tom,  .Dick 
and  Toby  were  familiar  styles  of  salutation  amongst  them,  and 
in  time  of  court,  as  soon  as  the  judge  descended  from  the  bench 
there  was  a  room  called  for,  and  company  invited  in,  and  every 
one  who  chose,  called  in  his  bottle  of  whatever  kind  of  liquor 
he  wanted  to  drink.  There  was  no  such  thing  known  as  call¬ 
ing  for  liquor  by  the  glass.  Whoever  could  sing  the  best  song, 
or  tell  the  best  story,  was  the  best  fellow.  As  for  myself  I 
could  sing  almost  any  kind  of  a  song  that  might  be  called  for, 
and  tell  a  great'  many  stories  of  different  kinds,  besides  was  a 
great  mimic,  which  by  the  way  I  think  is  a  great  fault,  although 
guilty  myself.  All  was  fun  and  frolic  until  the  hour  that  we 
chose  to  adjourn  for  bed.  There  was  never  any  dispute  or  con-' 


176 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


tention  admitted,  nor  an)T  party  question  discussed  among  us  in 
these  evening  or  night  frolics. 

Those  that  were  disposed  to  be  quarrelsome,  formed  a  sep¬ 
arate  club  by  themselves  ;  they  generally  left  town  about  dusk 
for  some  place  within  two  or  three  miles,  that  suited  them,  and 
where  undisturbed,  they  could  riot  all  night.  These  Tennessee¬ 
ans  were  mostly  fond  of  strong  liquor,  and  could  drink  a  good 
quantity  ;  neither  was  it  considered  disreputable. 

I  was  now  in  good  circumstances,  making  money  easy,  if 
not  fast,  yet  sure,  I  was  clear  of  debt,  and  had  always  corn, 
wheat,  and  meat,  to  sell ;  I  had  a  wagon  and  a  first  rate  team  ; 
eleven  good  horses  and  other  property.  I  then  stood  at  par 
with  the  best  men  in  the  country.  Under  these  circumstanstances 
I  considered  myself  settled  for  life,  and  was  to  commence  putting 
up  a  set  of  mills,  for  I  was  situated  on  an  elegant  stream. 


Our  venerable  father  wrote  the  foregoing  narrative  at  the 
age  of  seventy -four,  in  the  year  1836,  in  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
and  was  compelled  to  close,  on  account  of  his  eyes  and  nerves 
failing. 

“How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country’s  wishes  blest ! 

When  Spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold. 

Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 

She  then  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod  % 

Than  Fancy’s  feet  have  ever  trod. 

u  By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung 
Bv  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung  : 

There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 

To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there.” 


\ 


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